Page 46 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

44 A Project of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) The big change: public opinion vs public judgment Typically information is given to leaders in the form of public opinion polls (and voting of course). These are opinions from the community that are collected, often on short notice, without much informed thought on the matter. While this can have advantages in campaigning, it can make life difficult when in office. This is not the fault of either the community or you as politicians – it is the result of the political systems we have designed. But the fundamental problem with this way of making public decisions is that it is responsive to the wrong input. Decisions are made responding to public opinion and not to public judgment. Where public opinion measures the public’s top of mind (1-2 minute) response to a question or issue, public judgment is their 30-50-hour response after having access to diverse sources of information, critical thinking and deliberation with other diverse members of their community. This combination of time, information and deliberation produces a deep understanding of a topic and the nuanced trade-offs involved in making difficult public decisions.