Does every opinion count?
David Smith
From Socrates to Charlie Hebdo, people have fought for the right to express their opinion. So let’s be clear – this piece is not challenging the nobility of opinion (and I acknowledge the irony of offering an opinion in Viewpoint!). The aspect that I want to address is the rise of our opinion culture: we have arrived in an era that seems to legitimise putting opinions into the public domain with little reflection on the implications of offering them. My worry is that, after years of market researchers campaigning on the theme...