Public Opinion

De: Walter Lippmann

Narrado por: John Clickman

Walter Lippmann's Public Opinion (1922) argues humans can't fully grasp complex issues. We rely on simplified ideas (stereotypes) and media portrayals ("pseudo-environments") to form opinions. He suggests experts, not the public, should guide society due to these limitations. Though controversial, it remains a crucial text in understanding public opinion, media influence, and the challenges of democracy.

Public Domain (P)2024 Timeless

Lippmann is an impressive social scientist.

I had heard of Lippmann as a journalist, but didn’t know what an excellent thinker and observer he was. I recommend the book highly. The one distraction is the poor ability of the narrator to read English. His voice and style of reading are fine, but he mispronounces words all over the place and sometimes makes substitutions that are initially very confusing (e.g., “casualty” for “causality” and “mortality” for “morality,” among many others). That such errors end up in the final version is more the fault of the editors than of the reader, but the result is still disconcerting. Still very much worth the listen though.