Nature of Belief Systems Reconsidered

<p>In the foundational document of modern public-opinion research Philip E. Converse’s The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics (1964) established the U.S. public’s startling political ignorance. This volume makes Converse’s long out-of-print article available again and brings together a variety of scholars including Converse himself to reflect on Converse’s findings after nearly half a century of further research. Some chapters update findings on public ignorance. Others outline relevant research agendas not only in public-opinion and voter-behavior studies but in American political development state theory and normative theory. Three chapters grapple with whether voter ignorance is rational. Several chapters consider the implications of Converse’s findings for the democratic ideal of a well-informed public; others focus on the political elite who are better informed but quite possibly more dogmatic than members of the general public. Contributors include Scott Althaus Stephen Earl Bennett Philip E. Converse Samuel DeCanio James S. Fishkin Jeffrey Friedman Doris A. Graber Russell Hardin Donald Kinder Arthur Lupia Samuel L. Popkin Ilya Somin and Gregory W. Wawro.</p><p>This book was originally published as a special issue of <em>Critical Review: A Journal of Politics and Society</em>.</p>