[FRA:] Adorno on public opinion

[Ralph Dumain]

Adorno, Theodor W. "Opinion Research and Publicness 
(Meinungsforschung und Offentlichkeit)", translated with an 
introduction by Andrew J. Perrin & Lars Jarkko, Sociological Theory, 
vol. 23, no. 1, Mar 2005, pp. 116-123.

Abstract:
     We present a short introduction to, & the first English language
     translation of, Theodor W. Adorno's 1964 article,
     "Meinungsforschung und Offentlichkeit." In this article,
     Adorno situates the misunderstanding of public opinion within a
     dialectic of elements of publicness itself: empirical publicness'
     dependence on a normative ideology of publicness, & modern
     publicness' tendency to undermine its own principles. He also locates
     it in the dual role of mass media as both for the expression of
     opinion &, as he calls them, "organs of public opinion."
     The introduction provides a discussion of Adorno's reception in the
     American academy, arguing that contemporary sociological practice
     should be concerned with the problems Adorno raises. We suggest that
     Adorno's relegation to the fields of philosophy & aesthetics
     belies his relevance to empirical sociological research. 1 Table, 17
     References. Adapted from the source document.

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A timely discovery on my part, given the most manipulative 
engineering of the Democratic Party presidential primaries to date.

Adorno traces the linkage between opinion research and market 
research, and the role of both in the manipulation of consumers (with 
respect to commodities and politics both), as well as the history and 
nature of "publicness". Opinion research, which is essentially one 
with market research, does not merely register the opinions of the 
public; it serves to keep the masses immature and undermine their 
capacity for independent thought. Public consumption of information 
is akin to the audience for theater. The study of public opinion 
should be an object of study rather than a tool to be wielded uncritically.

A brief citation analysis supports the translators' contention that 
Adorno has been undervalued as a sociological theorist.  Furthermore, 
much of Adorno's sociological output remains untranslated into 
English, in contrast to other of his works.

There is a close relation between this essay and Habermas' work on 
the public sphere.  Adorno argues that the constitution of publicness 
has undermined the development of an independent deliberative public.

The translators' summary is illuminating, but Adorno's actual essay 
in translation makes some specific trenchant remarks of note.  The 
registry of public opinion is not done to reflect public opinion but 
to control it.   The masses are made into "an appendage of the 
machinery of public opinion".  Publicness is surreptitiously tied to 
the shaky status of the private. A more responsible (and 
non-positivistic) approach to opinion research could fulfill a 
critical social function.

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Riddle: How many obamas does it take to screw in a light bulb?