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The English term "public opinion" dates back to the seventeenth century work by John Locke, ''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'', which contains an early consideration of the importance of public opinion in the ordering of politics. The term was derived from the French word ''l’opinion'', which was first used in 1588 by Michel de Montaigne.〔Wolfgang Donsbach, The International Encyclopedia of Communication. Wiley-Blackwell, 2008〕 This concept came about through the process of urbanization and other political and social forces. For the first time, it became important what people thought, as forms of political contention changed. It was introduced by James Madison that for a government to be democratic, it would be essential to have strong and knowledgeable citizens that hold educated opinions that could be shared and expressed.〔Bianco, William T., and David T. Canon. "Public Opinion." In American Politics Today. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2013.〕 Active citizens would then use this knowledge to participate in their government, while also being able to inform other citizens of current issues. In terms of political science, public opinion is defined as being “the aggregate of public attitudes or beliefs about government or politics”.〔 Public opinion is considered to be the factor that guides an indirect democratic government. It is only through the approval of the public that a government gains the authority to function. Public opinion is thought to develop from these main sources: “political socialization, education, life experience, political parties, the media, and the government”.〔 Public opinion is considered a dynamic part of today’s government. Continually changing, it has the power and influence to shape the government in new ways. ==History== The emergence of public opinion as a significant force in the political realm can be dated to the late 17th century. However, opinion had been regarded as having singular importance since far earlier - William Shakespeare had called public opinion the 'mistress of success' and Blaise Pascal thought it was 'the queen of the world.' John Locke in his treatise ''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' considered that man was subject to three laws: the divine law, the civil law, and most importantly in Locke's judgement, the law of opinion or reputation. He regarded the latter as of the highest importance because dislike and ''ill-opinion'' force people to conform in their behaviour to social norms, however he didn't consider public opinion as a suitable influence for governments. William Temple in his essay of 1672, ''On the Original and Nature of Government'' gave an early formulation of the importance of public opinion. He observed that "...when vast numbers of men submit their lives and fortunes absolutely to the will of one, it...must be force of custom, or opinion...which subjects power to authority." Temple disagreed with the prevalent opinion that the basis of government lay in a social contract and thought that government was merely allowed to exist due to the favour of public opinion. The prerequisites for the emergence of a public sphere were increasing levels of literacy which was spurred on by the Reformation, which encouraged individuals to read the Bible in the vernacular, and the rapidly expanding printing presses. During the 18th century religious literature was replaced with secular literature, novels and pamphlets. In parallel to this was the growth in reading societies and clubs. At the turn of the century the first circulating library opened in London and the public library became widespread and available to the public. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Public opinion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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