This book came to my attention through a reference in another work. I recall that the reference had something to do with public opinion, but that's only one of many topics discussed in it. It was written in the 1930s and is very much a product of its age. The author begins with a comparison between the methods of science and democracy, but she vastly overrates the parallels. Her belief in the powers of rational social planning also looks a bit amusing today, but it was of course a broadly held opinion at the time. To her credit she saw clearly the downside of communist rule as well.

Chapter 5 which discusses publicity and propaganda is the best one. The author discusses public knowledge in democracy and particularly the impact of new technologies. She makes several good points and even anticipates the democratic possibilities of an information age where citizens can interact directly over broad distances. Similar observations have been made later time and again, but it's still impressive to see someone forecast 70 years into the future with this much accuracy.

The biggest problem with this book is that it strays onward to a new topic in every chapter without regard for any general argument. I suppose it's a product of an age when breadth of analysis was still favored over depth. Many of the author's analyses are very intelligent and retain some interest even today, but for the final 60 pages of the book it seems like she really didn't have much more to say but kept on writing anyway. This was a nice book to read, but I will stick to more recent academic work in the near future. Democratic theory has progressed and so have its methods.