Anonymous asked this question on 3/20/2000:
In a democracy, how does public will become public policy???
JesseGordon gave this response on 3/26/2000:
I disagree with KC2 -- public will DOES become public policy in America!
And the system works not just via elections -- but with every Congressional bill, every day.
That members of Congress care about polls and the press indicates that the public will is relevant to their daily activities. Yes, of course, they are answerable in an election eventually, but politicians care about public support between elections too.
For example: One of the major reasons that Clinton was not removed from office after being impeached was that the "public will" was against his removal. If Clinton were not popular (which means, if he did not follow the public will on most major issues), his chances of surviving a Senate vote would have been very low. Nixon knew that, and resigned rather than face impeachment and removal from office because the "public will" agreed that he should go.
Politicians read the newspapers and know what the public thinks -- they hire staff for that purpose. They conduct polls to further influence their decisions. When they read the public will wrong, the press and letters from constituents let them know it in no uncertain terms. That's the basic mechanism for how public will becomes public policy.
Yes, politicians can take a "principled stance" against the public will -- sometimes the public accepts that, sometimes not. But the politicians know that they are going against the majority opinion in those cases, and go to great lengths to justify it -- such as by calling it "principled."
Anonymous asked this question on 3/20/2000:
In a democracy, how does public will become public policy???
budgetanalyst gave this response on 3/20/2000:
Through the political process, usually expressed in elections. The people elect others who presumably represent their views, and those elected proceed to make policy.