This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ...and the formation of a public opinion. The primitive democracies of savage and barbarous society almost always reach their decisions by unanimous agreement. But such unanimity is not possible in the great, complex societies of modern civilization. Hence, in most things, such societies are content to reach a ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ...and the formation of a public opinion. The primitive democracies of savage and barbarous society almost always reach their decisions by unanimous agreement. But such unanimity is not possible in the great, complex societies of modern civilization. Hence, in most things, such societies are content to reach a decision through the agreement of a majority. Public policies and leaders to carry out those policies are usually selected by a majority vote. In such cases, the popular will, like public opinion, represents, not uniformity of will in all the members of a group, or even in the majority, but rather an organization and coordination of the many volitional attitudes of the members of the group, so that they issue in a definite, unified result. With such methods of reaching a social decision, there is always danger, of course, that the result will be a compromise which satisfies none of the different classes or parties in the whole group. Hence, the will of the group will not be behind the change which has been made in some institution, and the whole situation will therefore remain unstable. This means that a definite social choice has not really been made, and is apparently one of the difficulties which confront complex groups which proceed in social adjustment upon the principle of majority rule. In most cases what is lacking here is the sufficient development of social consciousness regarding the situation by the group as a whole. With the more fully developed social' consciousness, as a rule, a social decision is reached which is truly representative of the will of the group, and the social changes resulting settle down into habits and become embodied in the institutions of the group. Critical And Constructive Periods In History. Periods of...
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