STARTING WITH THE PEOPLE
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988)

by Daniel Yankelovich and Sidney Harman

The United States government has lost touch with the American people, argue Daniel Yankelovich, our most thoughtful public opinion analyst, and Sidney Harman, industrialist and former government official. The nation faces unprecedented competitive challenges from abroad -- from the Soviets militarily and politically, from the Japanese and others economically. Yet, say the authors, our political leaders are unable to define a long-term strategy for the country that the public will steadfastly support. At the root of the problem is the lack of a firm national consensus of the sort that enabled America to act effectively and responsibly in world affairs in the years after World War II. The authors analyze just how national security and trade became perversely complex issues, and track how the experts took them over while the public tuned out. They note that our leaders sometimes see the problem and set out on doomed missions to educate the public -- doomed because these are elitist, top-down exercises. How did this happen? What other prices do we pay for this breakdown in communication between government and the governed? How can communication be restored? America can recover its dynamic leadership in the world, the authors argue, only on the basis of a new national consensus built on an understanding of the people's values. These they analyze and define, eloquently crafting a case for a revival of national purpose based on the political will of the many rather than on the technical cleverness of the few.