On the Nature of the Public Interest.

Abstract The public's formulation of its interests will not automatically respond to new problems or changed environments. Thus, something or someone must act as catalyst in this process. A clear example of how political leaders have caused a shift in the public interest can be found in the shift from "isolationism" to "internationalism" from the late 1930's to the present. Most persons now consider that the interests of peoples throughout the world are related to their own and evaluate foreign and domestic policies on that basis. Even closer to day-to-day activities, the generally accepted idea that certain information about business progress and position of publicly owned companies should be revealed to all has come to be accepted as in the public interest only in relatively recent times. It is the position taken here that both these changes came about in large measure because of the political education activities of "far-sighted" individuals who were simultaneously trying to act as an interpreter of the public interest in a capacity of decision maker.