--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps the best known, and certainly the…" description: "\"Perhaps the best known, and certainly the most vaunted, \"discovery\" of modern public opinion research is the indifference and ignorance of a majority o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/moses-finley-35513_democracy_perhaps-the-best-known-and-certainly-the_1783500.jpg" --- # Perhaps the best known, and certainly the most vaunted… ![“Perhaps the best known, and certainly the most vaunted, "discovery" of modern public opinion research is the indifference and ignorance of a majority of the electorate in western democracies.” quote by Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/moses-finley-35513_democracy_perhaps-the-best-known-and-certainly-the_1783500.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/moses-finley-35513_democracy_perhaps-the-best-known-and-certainly-the_1783500.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f66/moses-finley-35513_democracy_perhaps-the-best-known-and-certainly-the_1783500.jpg) > “Perhaps the best known, and certainly the most vaunted, "discovery" of modern public opinion research is the indifference and ignorance of a majority of the electorate in western democracies.” [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public opinion research often reveals a disengaged electorate, indicating that many voters lack interest or knowledge. **In simple terms:** Voters are often indifferent or uninformed. Key Takeaway Engage and educate the electorate. Themes politics public opinion democracy Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - campaign strategy - civic education - policy analysis - media outreach Key Concepts political science media studies Questions to Reflect On - Why do people stay disengaged? - How can institutions foster informed participation? A Different Perspective Changing opinions requires more than data collection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Electorate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electorate/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-majority-1648322/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Indifference Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference-ignorance-1883023/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Public opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-opinion/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Research Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research-indifference-1883024/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [It's indifference and ignorance that stops people from doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-luna/it-s-indifference-and-ignorance-that-stops-people-from-doing-the/) [Diego Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-luna/) > [“oo many people are profoundly illiterate in power (TED Talk: Why ordinary people need to understand power). As a result, it’s become ever easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/oo-many-people-are-profoundly-illiterate-in-power-ted-talk-why/) [eric liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [When misguided public opinion honors what is despicable and despises what is honorable, punishes virtue and rewards vice, encourages what is harmful and discourages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/when-misguided-public-opinion-honors-what-is-despicable-and-despises/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [I think that is what the electorate is looking for - they are not looking for a pretty face to lead the country. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-seah/i-think-that-is-what-the-electorate-is-looking-for-they-are-not/) [Nicole Seah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-seah/) > [There may be a sense in the electorate, especially among independents that President Obama has overreached in some ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fullilove/there-may-be-a-sense-in-the-electorate-especially-among-independents/) [Michael Fullilove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fullilove/) > [The moment is ripe for an experienced businessman to talk practical, prudent economics to the electorate - which is why Mitt Romney's political fortunes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-moment-is-ripe-for-an-experienced-businessman-to-talk-practical/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [The American creationist movement has entirely bypassed the scientific forum and has concentrated instead on political lobbying and on taking its case to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-american-creationist-movement-has-entirely-bypassed-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [In our democracy, political parties have to raise funds to campaign and put their policies to the electorate, and as a proud supporter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sainsbury-baron-sainsbury-of-turville/in-our-democracy-political-parties-have-to-raise-funds-to-campaign/) [David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sainsbury-baron-sainsbury-of-turville/) > [“all the people have a right to vote, and no single man ever controls the destiny of any nation, either by divine right or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/all-the-people-have-a-right-to-vote-and-no-single-man-ever-controls/) [James Clavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clavell/) > [My own electorate, which I represented for 36 years as an anti-apartheid politician, had a considerable number of Jewish voters supporting me throughout my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-suzman/my-own-electorate-which-i-represented-for-36-years-as-an-anti/) [Helen Suzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-suzman/) > [The exit polls suggest that after a relatively disappointing first term, Obama managed to reassemble almost all of his 2008 electorate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-exit-polls-suggest-that-after-a-relatively-disappointing-first/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [I think FoxNews ratings are a reliable guide to the attitudes of the American electorate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reese-schonfeld/i-think-foxnews-ratings-are-a-reliable-guide-to-the-attitudes-of-the/) [Reese Schonfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reese-schonfeld/) > [If you have an informed electorate, it makes great choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/if-you-have-an-informed-electorate-it-makes-great-choices/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [One difficulty in making the Senate work the way it was intended is that America's electorate is increasingly divided into red and blue states,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olympia-snowe/one-difficulty-in-making-the-senate-work-the-way-it-was-intended-is/) [Olympia Snowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olympia-snowe/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) ## More by Moses Finley > [Knowledge for its own sake was meaningless, its mere accumulation a waste of time. Knowledge must lead to understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/knowledge-for-its-own-sake-was-meaningless-its-mere-accumulation-a/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [Historical explanation is not identical with moral judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/historical-explanation-is-not-identical-with-moral-judgment/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [We must consider not only why the classical theory of democracy appears to be in contradiction with the observed practice, but also why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/we-must-consider-not-only-why-the-classical-theory-of-democracy/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [Political leaders, lacking documents that could be kept secret (apart from the occasional exception), lacking media they could control, were of necessity brought into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/political-leaders-lacking-documents-that-could-be-kept-secret-apart/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [A genuinely political society, in which discussion and debate are an essential technique, is a society full of risks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/a-genuinely-political-society-in-which-discussion-and-debate-are-an/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [Ideal goals are a menace in themselves, as much in more modern philosophers as in Plato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/ideal-goals-are-a-menace-in-themselves-as-much-in-more-modern/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [What I am arguing, in effect, is that the full democratic system of the second half of the fifth century B.C. would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/what-i-am-arguing-in-effect-is-that-the-full-democratic-system-of-the/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [Faction is the greatest evil and the most common danger. "Faction" is the conventional English translation of the Greek stasis, one of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/faction-is-the-greatest-evil-and-the-most-common-danger-faction-is/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [man is by nature designed to live in the polis, the highest form of koinonia, community; that is man's end or goal if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/man-is-by-nature-designed-to-live-in-the-polis-the-highest-form-of/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [In the western world today everyone is a democrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/in-the-western-world-today-everyone-is-a-democrat/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [If I had to choose one which best characterized the condition of being a political leader in Athens, the word would be "tension".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/if-i-had-to-choose-one-which-best-characterized-the-condition-of/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [It is a mark of civilised man that he seeks to understand his traditions, and to criticise them, not to swallow them whole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/it-is-a-mark-of-civilised-man-that-he-seeks-to-understand-his/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) [Explore all 13 Moses Finley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) ## More Democracy quotes > [Elections belong to the people. 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But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. 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