Proponents of industrial policy often advocate establishing corporatist policy making mechanisms as an approach to formulating economic development policy. Utilizing data from statewide telephone surveys, this article analyzes the failure of corporatist policy making to generate public support in a referendum on an industrial policy plan in Rhode Island. The study tests three propositions from the industrial policy literature and finds that such policy making (1) did not produce policies which appealed to the public's concern for others, (2) did not deflect public cynicism toward government, and (3) did not translate an elite consensus into mass support for industrial policy proposals.