Both the importance and dangers of public opinion in the modern State make it necessary for us to consider the conditions which are essential for the creation of a sound, wise and intelligent public opinion. They are as follows:
Education.
In the making of a sound and intelligent public opinion, education of the citizens comes first. “The education of the citizens” writes Laski, “is the heart of the modern State” The citizens must be properly educated if they are to play their part well in the life of the community. An educated person is constructive, critical and interested in public affairs. An illiterate person is mostly guided by his blind passions or sentiments or is duped by demagogues and the like. But education should be free from such vices as prejudice, fanaticism, intolerance, obscurantism, etc. It must not be dominated by Church or religion and such other vested interests.
Free Press.
Education takes a long time to influence public opinion, that is, when the boys, girls and the youth have passed through the schools and colleges. But the public opinion is directly and immediately made and influenced by the press. Yet it is only free press that forms it on a sound and proper basis. Negatively speaking, a free press is one which is not controlled or subsidised by men of wealth, vested interests, or communal bodies, or by the government. Positively speaking, it means one which gives the public honest, impartial, free and untarnished news, views and reviews or information and is also free to criticise the news, views and reviews or information supplied by any other agency, private or governmental. When all arguments are voiced and criticised before the people, they will know how to choose the sound and reject the unsound ones. Thus the free press will help in the formation and expression of a sound public opinion.
Free Discussion.
Public opinion is the opinion of the public. But before the public can form an opinion, it must have the freedom of discussing the pros and cons of problem. Public discussion require* freedom of thought, opinion, speech, association, assembly and of other means of communication by press, and post, wire and wireless. Discussion and expression of opinion may be face-to-face or through the press and postal correspondence of through the medium of electric wires or radiowaves or of television. By free discussion and expression the peoplr communicate their wishes and opinions to the seat of governmental authority and also expose errors, correct mistakes and guide the policy of public bodies and administration.
Social Harmony.
The citizens of a State must not be divided by irreconcilable differences of religion, culture or of commercial and ethnic loyalties. Where barriers of caste, creed, colour or class divide a people into different strata or compartments, there can be no “public” in the proper sense of the word. In order to be a public, a population must possess community of interests and unity of tradition and outlook and must also agree on certain fundamental political doctrines. There should be a common way of life. There should be unity in diversity in their national life.
Economic Security.
All the people in a State should enjoy a decent standard of life. They should have economic security by having a decent source of income. A nation divided into too rich and too poor classes cannot form a sound public opinion, for the poor classes will be exploited and controlled by the richer ones. They will have no means of expressing their opinion. A starving man has no opinion of his own.