Collective Preferences in Democratic Politics

Since so few people appear knowledgeable about public affairs one might question whether collective policy preferences revealed in opinion surveys accurately convey the distribution of voices and interests in a society. Scott Althaus'' comprehensive analysis of the relationship between knowledge representation and political equality (in opinion surveys) leads to surprising answers. Knowledge does matter and the way it is dispensed in society can cause collective preferences to reflect opinions disproportionately. Accordingly the study can help survey researchers journalists politicians and concerned citizens better appreciate the problems and potentials of the usage of opinion polls to represent the people''s voice.