The Woodrow Wilson Center Press
Reading Mixed Signals: Ambivalence in American Public Opinion about Government
Susan Davis Cantril and Albert H. Cantril
What should the place of government be in the life of the nation? If you turn to the public for the answer to this question, you encounter a paradox. What people say about government as a general matter is often at odds with what they actually want it to do. This is seen most often when people say government is doing too many things and at the same time want its activities in a host of areas continued, if not expanded.
What People are Saying
Chapter List
1. The Paradox
2. Gauging the Public's Ambivalence about Government
3. Government Performance and Ambivalence about Government
4. Issues and Ambivalence about Government
5. Personal Situation and Ambivalence about Government
6. What Lies Behind Ambivalence about Government?
7. Some Political Consequences of Ambivalence about Government