In The Public and Its Problems, a book on social and political philosophy, John Dewey displays his beliefs of the potential of human intelligence to solve the public's problems. From his own perspective, Dewey makes clear the meaning and implications of such concepts as "the public," "the state," "government," and "political democracy."
Dewey’s explains all of this by showing differences between the "state," which is represented by selected lawmakers, and the "public," the diffuse, a body of citizens who generally choose the people for the state. The public is called when individuals experience the negative consequences of exchanges beyond their control (such as market or governmental activities). The public is made up of people whose similar interest is fixated on dissolving these negative externalities through legislation; in fact, Dewey believes that a public does not really exist until a negative externality calls it into being.
Dewey declares that this occurs when people can begin to comprehend how the results of indirect actions affect them as a whole: “Indirect, extensive, enduring and serious consequences of conjoint and interacting behavior call a public into existence having a common interest in controlling these consequences” (Dewey, 126).Therefore, a public only develops when it has purpose and comes together around a subject of significance or of importance.
Dewey reluctantly acknowledges the arguments of other opponents of modern democracy such as, Walter Lippman. Dewey believes there are influential forces that work in order to conceal the public and stop it from clearly defining its needs. For example, Dewey explains how special interest, controlling corporate wealth, numbing and diverting entertainment, common...
... middle of paper ...
...e the “Great Community.” He writes, “Without such communication the public will remain shadowy and formless…Till the Great Society is converted into a Great Community, the Public will remain in eclipse. Communication can alone create a great community” (Dewey, 142).
Overall, John Dewey’s The Public and Its Problems deals in large part with the problem of increasing access to scientific and specialized knowledge in a way that recognizes the ideals of democratic societies.
Most actions by and between people are private—which is to say they affect only the individuals in question and are of no legitimate interest to anyone else. But some activities on the part of individuals may have indirect consequences on others.
Work Cited
Dewey John. 1954. “The Public and Its Problems.” United States of America: Swallow Press/Ohio University Press Books.
John Dewey and Freidrich Hayek both give compelling accounts of what they view as “free” political association. Hayek gives an account of a state where liberal principles are used and freedom is freedom from the coercion of others; while in contrast Dewey gives an account of a society where both liberal and democratic principles are used and where freedom is much more complex. The difference in the views of Hayek and Dewey on what they perceive to be a free society stems from difference’s they have on liberalism and democracy, freedom, and on the way a “free state” is created. Dewey offers a much more compelling view with his argument that liberalism and democracy cannot be separated, his view of freedom being much more diverse, and his rejection of spontaneous order. This allows for greater interpretation and creates a grey, middle ground that Hayek’s view does not.
Janda, Kenneth, Jeffrey M. Berry and Jerry Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
As we delve into the writings of Mr. John Dewey and Mr. Howard Zinn we notice a shared theme between the two authors, balance. However, both philosophers view the approach to reaching balance in different ways. In Zinn’s article The Uses of Scholarship, Zinn states that knowledge is a form of power. I find a great deal of truth in this statement. The presidential election of 2016 is on the rise. With that being said, even the most uninformed voter will elect the candidate he/she feels is the most knowledgeable to run our country, the candidate he/she feels is the most qualified to become the leader of our free world. Zinn writes that these people we elect in power, keep control by setting rules that are upheld by modern society. Zinn does not
Nash, Gary, et al. The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. Upper Saddle River,
Thomas Jefferson believed that democracy was the best way to guarantee that a government ensured its people’s natural rights. He believed that an educated people, free from mandated intellectual influences, economic dependence, and requirements of privileged birth, would be capable of protecting their own rights. However, not all aspects of his beliefs came to fruition in his
In Democracy and Education, John Dewey, described as the father of experience-derived education, gave his opinion of how democracy and education should interact in order to create a sound democratic society. He wrote of how a democracy cannot flourish if education is tuned for the masses or if only a select few can get higher education. He also discussed how the “three R’s” (reading, writing, and arithmetic) are faulty, and how the curriculum must help students develop the ability to tackle social issues in the “real world.” However, high schools today are not preparing citizens to achieve Dewey’s vision; rather, they are moving farther away from it.
A democratic society is one in which its members have their own informed opinions and have the freedom to define their role in society. John Dewey argues that a democratic society can only function if students receive an education that fosters critical thinking and analysis. However, modern-day high schools are inadequately preparing students to become exemplary citizens because schools withhold students in unfavorable settings while emphasizing irrelevant curricula and failing to expose students to the liberal arts.
Dye, T. R., Zeigler, H., & Schubert, L. (2012). The Irony of Democracy (15th ed.).
The ideas of democracy and social reform are repeatedly discussed in the long 26 chapters of Democracy and Education. In the opening chapters, Dewey introduced the concepts that he would employ throughout the enquiry that the importance of schools not only as a place to gain content knowledge, but also as a home to learn how to
Lastly Mills highlights how a truly democratic state can be achieved. There is a need for a public that acts a medium for true political change, skilled men who form the higher powers of the state and have no vested corporate interests, dependable parties that debate openly and lucidly the problems faced by the world and finally liberated institutions between the public and the elite that act as proponent for the public opinion.
Community is like a Venn diagram. It is all about relations between a finite group of people or things. People have their own circles and, sometimes, these circles overlap one another. These interceptions are interests, common attitudes and goals that we share together. These interceptions bond us together as a community, as a Venn diagram. A good community needs good communication where people speak and listen to each other openly and honestly. It needs ti...
Dewey felt that democracy was the ideal social structure, the one best suited to the needs and aims of all people; under no other political scheme was it possible for general citizens to have allowance and responsibility to grow individually and culturally. All other systems hindered personal and social growth in Dewey’s scheme. Any form of despotic state used fear to such an extent that it became one of the only factors that kept the state in union, and the other factors that would naturally cause people to work together in their social environments were perverted and wasted. “Instead of operating on their own account they are reduced to mere servants of attaining pleasure and avoiding pain” (DE, 84).
Robert Kelley, “Public History: Its Origins, Nature, and Prospects,” PH 1 (August 1978): 16-28 https://troy.blackboard.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_17_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_369657_1%26url%3D (accessed February 15, 2014).
..., Robert D. Putnam’s theory that civic culture is enough to sustain democracy is not accurate because situations like the backsliding of Weimar Germany away from democracy can happen even with the presence of a high civic culture. Instead of focusing on improving the numbers of people that a part of associational memberships, read newspapers and other media outlets, the number of people that turnout for national elections and the amount of informed voters there needs to be a focus on improving the quality of Civic Participation. There needs to focus on eliminating polarized cleavages within society and eliminating media bias in favor of bipartisan coverage in order to achieve the ‘right’ civic participation. There also needs to be a stable economy where people are not worried about not
When people of a community are closely involved in communication strategy, it encourages them to take ownership of the initiative of development instead of considering themselves as recipients of development.