Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/49

 PUBLIC OPINION 35

So we speak continually of public opinion as if it were some- thing separate from the opinions of individuals; as if it were the opinion of a higher entity, of the nation or of society, produced no doubt by ratiocination of individuals, but as essentially differ- ent, distinct, and superior as the body of a man is different from the cells which compose it. This conception is part and parcel of the organic theory of society; if we are not ready to accept that dogma we must use the term public opinion with caution, remem- bering always that it is nothing but the opinion s of sep arate indi- viduals. 11

Every opinion of an individual is, of course, not a public opinion ; not even those opinions to which a majority of citizens agree are all public opinions. Public opinion, as we have said, is only the opinions of separate individuals, but not their opinions taken separately. This qualification is of prime importance. The majority of the members of the House of Commons may agree in a great many opinions which cannot — not even in a meta- phorical sense — be called the opinion of the House of Commons. To be that, this common opinion must be more or less definitely formulated and agreed to by the members. There must be a realization that this is the common opinion, a recognition of its wide diffusion and a readiness to defend it. It may never have come to a vote — that is an entirely secondary matter — but it must be generally known that a majority of the members of the House of Commons have taken a stand upon this opinion. This opinion must serve as one of the bonds of union linking the members together and making them the House of Commons and not merely a group of distinguished English gentlemen who happen to be together from pure accident. It is not at all unlikely that a majority of the members of the House of Commons would agree, if asked, that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes, or that the English language requires a simplified spelling ; but these can in no sense be said to be opinions of the House of Commons. So a public opinion must be an opinion to which the members of a public agree, not in a merely accidental fashion, but in full cog- nizance that this opinion constitutes a bond of union between the individuals holding it. The number of such opinions which any