The Politics of Always Ignoring What Average Americans Want

An academic assertion that average Americans “have little or no independent influence on policy at all” prompted more reaction than the typical work of political scientists. The paper (PDF), by Princeton University’s Martin Gilens and Northwestern University’s Benjamin Page, has been accepted for publication in the fall 2014 issue of a scholarly journal, Perspectives on Politics. The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog featured it earlier this year. And the paper has received extensive comment from other academics, who have read it in draft form.

“I’m delighted that it’s generated as much attention as it has,” Gilens says.