How Rational Is “The Rational Public”?
How Rational Is “The Rational Public”?
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“理性公众”有多理性？
DOI：
10.1177/0022002798042005002
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发表时间：
1998
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
J. Knopf
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Knopf
研究美国公众舆论和外交政策的专家拒绝接受阿尔蒙德-李普曼共识，该共识暗示公众态度危险地不稳定，并在不同程度上倾向于认为公众舆论是理性的。就这一新观点达成共识还为时过早。修正主义者还没有解决对美国公众的传统批评的所有要素。特别是，他们忽视了战后外交政策现实主义者的论点，即公众对外国威胁的反应太慢，然后又太强烈。本文通过对1965 - 1991年公众对军费开支的看法的分析，对经典的现实主义假设进行了初步的检验。总的来说，结果有利于理性的公众观点。然而，一些警告表明，在拒绝公众的传统负面观点之前，需要进一步研究。
Specialists on U.S. public opinion and foreign policy have rejected the Almond-Lippmann consensus, which implied public attitudes were dangerously erratic, and have moved in varying degrees toward a view of public opinion as rational. Consensus on this new view would be premature. The revisionists have not yet addressed all elements of the traditional critique of the American public. In particular, they have overlooked the thesis of postwar foreign policy realists that the public reacts to foreign threats too slowly and then too strongly. This article presents a preliminary test of the classical realist hypotheses, through an analysis of public opinion on military spending from 1965 to 1991. On balance, the results favor the rational public perspective. Some caveats, however, suggest the need for further research before the traditional, negative view of the public should be rejected.