the concept of democracy and john dewey - carson - modem age, spring 1960.pdf

8/14/2019 The Concept of Democracy and John Dewey - CARSON - Modem Age, spring 1960.pdf

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Jo hn Dewey used the word democracy in at least thirty different ways . Ad dedu p th,ey constituted a totalitarian ideology.

The Concept o Democracyand John Dewey

C L A R E N C E B C A R S O N

ONE OF THE niosT OFTEN USED words inthe current American (and world) vocabu-lary is democracy. It adorns the titles ofbooks and textbooks, is the staple conceptof political speeches, provides the ballastor propaganda, is the subject of prayersby ministers, and is the basic assumptionof social commentaries and polemics. It isalmost invariably used approvingly, serv-ing as the criterion against which events,developments, practices, and institutionsare measured. A desirable program of ac-tion is called democratic, one which isopposed is called undemocratic. Thereis nothing particularly strange about thisusage; it supposedly serves to denote anagreed-upon set of values.

But what are these agreed-upon values?The trouble enters at this point, for de-mocracy is one of the most vague and im-precise words in our vocabulary. It has lost

most if not all of its descriptive value.Contrariwise, it has picked up meaning insome kind of inverse proportion to its lossof descriptive accuracy. Democracy, as aword, is ful l to overflowing with meaningor, more correctly, with meanings. It isso full of meanings that it has the longdistance accuracy of a shotgun, as it were,in precise expression. It has become aloaded word.

Before examining the consequences ofthis development the word needs first to beunpacked of its meanings. Democracy mustfirst be defined so that the basic definitioncan be set beside the accretions of mean-ings attached to it.

Democracy was originally an exclusivelypolitical concept. The first-listed definitionsin recent dictionaries preserve this senseof the word. The New Twentieth CenturyDict ionary (unabridged) gives as the first

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definition of democracy: Government bythe people; a form of government in whichthe supreme power is lodged in the handsof the people collectively. The first mean-ing in the American College Dictionaryis Government by the people; a form ofgovernment in which the supreme poweris vested i n the people and exercised bythem or by their elected agents under afree electoral system. In essence, both dic-tionaries have said that democracy pri-marily refers to a form of government inwhich the people rule. Etymologically, theword means simply rule by the people, thecitizens, or the masses.

Even in the political sense, however,democracy has acquired additional conno-tations, overtones, and meanings. Text-books in American government indicatethis trend. For example, one recent text-book says that democracy means govern-ment by the many, government directed bythe popular will, government in the interestof the people, government by the consent ofthe governed, belief in the Christian idealof the unique value and dignity of individ-ual human beings, in human equality,and in the possession of certain humanfreedoms. Another textbook includes, inaddition to the usual meanings overlappingwith some of the above, these two notions:a variety of particular programs, and lim-ited government.

Some of these meanings are not clearlyrelated to the basic definition of democ-racy. For example, why is democratic gov-ernment limited government? Because thepeople govern, it does not follow that theywill automatically limit the exercise ofpower by their government. The limita-tions on the powers of government in theAmerican political system were written in-to the Constitution, and these limits wereconceived in the light of certain naturalrights because they were believed to belongto man, not because they inhered in popu-

lar government. Rule by the people maynot necessarily be founded on any Chris-tian ideal. What these authors are tryingto do, of course, is to tell what democracyin America means to Americans, and, tosome extent how it is practiced in America.They have confused it with American prac-tices, adding to it associated meanings, andsome which are not necessarily if a t allrelated to it.

Thus far, democracy has been dealt withas a political concept. But i t is by no meansrestricted to a political context in its pres-ent usage; it has ramified into all areasof life. It is true there is some imprecisionin its use in the political context examinedalready, but this is negligible compared tothe looseness which characterizes the gen-eral use of it.

THERE S O BETTER P L A C E to discoverthis profusion of meanings and connota-tions attached to democracy than in thewritings of John Dewey. His is the exam-ple par excellence of the extension of themeaning of democracy into every phaseand activity of life. It would be difficult, ifnot impossible, to find a writer who hasused the word democracy with a greatervariety of meanings or with more impreci-sion.

For most men to use words impreciselyis not surprising, but for John Dewey tohave done so is remarkable. Dewey was aphilosopher, and philosophers have tradi-tionally defined their key concepts care-fully and rigidly, rigorously following theirestablished definition. Yet Deweys practicewent directly counter to this. Democracywas one of his key concepts, if not the keyconcept. He used the word often enough.He wrote at least one book3 and numerousarticles with democracy in the title^.^ I none article he used the words democraticand democracy twenty-nine times.5 Yet heconcluded the article with this observation :

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I dont know just what democracy meansin detail at the present time. I makethis humiliating confession the more read-ily because I suspect that nobody elseknows what it means in concrete de-

fashion, but each of them has somethingwhich distinguishes it slightly from theother. Let us examine them.

DEMOCRACY,ccording to John Dewey, is:tail.6 In short, Dewey did not define pre-cisely one of his key concepts.

Nor does the difficulty in understandingthe meaning which Dewey attached towords end with democracy; a similar im-precision was characteristic of most of hiswriting. Joseph W. Beach declared thatDeweys work showed a lack of clearness,a lack of precision,77 Among the difficul-ties in his style, according to another critic,were the use of familiar words with un-familiar meanings; the use of words withpregnant meanings; the use of long, in-volved and highly concentrated sentences

; the development of different impor-tant ideas in the same paragraph.

All of this means that it is frequently im-possible to determine the way in which heis using a word by its context. My aimhere is to set forth the variety of meaningswhich Dewey attached to the word democ-racy, but some of his usages defy classifica-tion. For example, he asks the question:How far is science taught in relation to itssocial consequences, actual and possible, ifthe resources which science puts at humandisposal were utilized for general demo-cratic social welfare?9 Not only is thequestion indecipherable, but the meaningof democratic in this context is not avail-able by analysis. Consequently, I have notattempted to classify this usage.

But without this parlicular enigmatic us-age Dewey used democracy with an as-tounding ar ray of connotations and associ-ations. While my tally is not definitive,Dewey used the words democracy anddemocratic in at least thirty ways, eitheras meanings, connotations, significations,or associations. The meanings overlap, in-tertwine, and intermingle in an indistinct

1 a political system, involving such in-stitutions as universal suffrage, recurringelections, responsibility of those who are inpolitical power to the voters. 2. government by the consent of the gov-erned.3. an educational process.*

4. an educational prin~ip1e.I~5. an educational system, one in whichall participate in making the decision and

all make contributions to the commonlife.6 . a method, one of reaching decisionsby discussion, voting and the acceptanceof the majority view.I5

7. constantly changing. As Dewey put it,The very idea of democracy must becontinually explored afresh to meet thechanges that are going on in the develop-ment of new needs on the part of humanbeings and new resources for satisfyingthese needs.lG

8. concerned with the needs and wantsof people, that asking other people whatthey would like, what they need, what theirideas are, is an essential part of the demo-cratic idea.?

9. a guide for directing the forces whichconfront man in his daily living.1810. a kind of freedom. Dewey speaks of

democratic freedom,19 saying that itdesignates a mental attitude rather thanexternal unconstraint of movements. 2011 a criterion for making judgments

about conditions, developments, and insti-tutions.*l

12 . a theory of knowledge. Dewey saysthat democracy must develop a theory ofknowledge which sees in knowledge themethod by which one experience is made

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available i n giving direction and meaningto another.22

13. closely related to science and thescientific method. He indicates in connec-tion with his call for a democratic theoryof knowledge that the recent advances inphysiology, biology and the logic of the ex-perimental sciences supply the specific in-tellectual instrumentalities demanded towork out and formulate such a the~ry.~On another occasion he said: While itwould be absurd to believe it desirable orpossible for every one to become a scientistwhen science is defined from the side ofsubject matter, the future of democracy isallied with the spread of the scientific atti-t ~ d e . ~ ~t is not clear whether science isdemocratic or democracy is scientific, orboth.

14. an attitude.z515. a belief in a humanistic culture.z616. an economic system, a system in

which all share in useful service and all en-joy a worthy leisure.2T17. a standard for personal conduct.28

18. a form of social control. Here themeaning is fairly clear as it refers to politi-cal democracy. He means that when an in-dividual participates in the making of de-cisions he binds himself to follow the deci-sion made, whether it is in accord with hiswishes or

19. a way of organizing society. Deweyfrequently used the phrase, democraticsociety,3o meaning a society so organizedthat all may participate in its decisions, itsgoods, the formulation of its ideas andaims, and to which all may contrib~te.~

20. a belief in equality. Equality is es-sential to democracy and inextricably tiedup with it, Dewey thought. By equality hemeant several things as usual. All individ-uals are entitled to equality of treatmentby law and its administraion. He meansequality of opportunity also. The very factof natural and psychological inequality is

all the more reason for establishment bylaw of equality of opportunity, since other-wise the former becomes a means of op-pression of the less gifted.32 Dewey passedover without comment the probability thatgovernment assurance of equality to theless gifted might be an oppression of themore gifted. Let there be no doubt aboutit the whole tendency of Deweys thoughtwas levelling, the breaking down of all dis-tinctions which raise one person or thingabove another. To indicate the extent ofhis thinking in this direction, his commentregarding distinctions made in philosophyis revealing. Democratic abolition of fixeddifferences between higher and lowerstill has to make its way in phil~sophy.~~

21. the belief in the dignity and worth ofthe individ~al.~22. participation in the formation ofthe values that regulate the living of mentogether. 3523 primarily a mode of associated liv-

ing, of conjoint communicated experi-e n ~ e . ~ ~24. an act of faith from the be li e~ er . ~25. a set of aims or ends.3826. an ideal, though what he meant was

something to be striven for, not a n ideal inthe Platonic sense.3g27. a way of life.40

28. a form of life.4129. a living thing, if Deweys language

is to be interpreted literally. For instance,he says that democracy in order to livemust change and move. If it is tolive it must go forward. If it doesnot go forward, if it tries to stand still, i tis already starting on the backward roadthat leads to ex ti nc ti ~n . ~ ~30 a concept for the organization ofevery aspect of a society and its culture,

including all areas of l ife in its extendedmeaning. Dewey said: The problem offreedom and democratic institutions is tiedup with the question of what kind of cul-

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ture exists. 3 And, The struggle fordemocracy has to be maintained on asmany fronts as culture has aspects: politi-cal, economic, international, educational,scientific and artistic, ~eligious.*~IN SUM, T H E N , according to Dewey, de-mocracy is a political system, an economicsystem, a social system, and an educationalsystem. It is a criterion for judgments, atheory of knowledge, a method, a principle,an aim, an ideal, a thing i n itself. It is away of life a form of life, a form of asso-ciated living, a guide for living, a matterof faith. It is equalitarian, humanistic, sci-entific, concerned with the needs and wantsof man, constantly changing and growing.It calls for a particular kind of organiza-tion of society and a particular orientationof all aspects of the culture. In short, ac-cording to Dewey, democracy applies to allareas and aspects of life. If anything wasleft out we may be sure that it was an er-ror of the head and not of the heart.In addition to these multifold descriptivemeanings attached to democracy there isthe non-descriptive usage alluded to in thebeginning-democracy as an agreed-uponvalue which is to be realized in the society,an unquestioned good. This amounts to anormative usage without a norm. Reducedto its essentials it amounts to saying thatthere is something good to be sought, butwhat the good is cannot be definitelystated.

Rut if democracy is fraught with all themeanings that John Dewey attaches to it,is t such an unalloyed good? Before de-ciding whether democracy is good and de-sirable i t is necessary first to know what i tis. Otherwise, i t is like signing a blankcheck. to be filled in according to circum-stances. To demonstrate this, let us accepttemporarily the varied meanings whichDewey says belong to democracy. Let usobserve l man before a congressional in-

vestigating conimittee who is being exam-ined on his beliefs.

Suppose the chairman of the committeeasks him this question: Are you a demo-crat? How could he answer such a ques-tion if he accepts Deweys meanings? Sup-pose he says, Yes, I am a democrat.What is he saying? Does he believe in as-sociated living? If so what forms of asso-ciated living does he believe in? Poly-gamy? Communism? Complex marriage?Does he believe in a democratic econom-ic system? Is it to be equalitarian? Do allshare equally in the wealth? Does he be-lieve that the more gifted are to be re-stricted to a level with the less gifted? Doeshe think that all should have their needsand wants met equally regardless of abilityor effort? Does he believe that all menshould share in the formation of values, ordoes he believe that values exist and menseek them, a perfectly respectable philo-sophical position? Is he sufficiently scien-tific to be a democrat, or is he so back-ward as to hold that science does not dealwith all of reality?

Before this array of questions he mightchange his answer and deny that he was ademocrat. But he would only have changedhorns on the dilemma. Does he mean to de-ny the worth and dignity of the individ-ual? Does he reject this Christian ideal?Is he opposed to freedom? Is he againstgovernment bv the consent of the goy-erned? Does he have the audacity to ques-tion the validity of an idea stated in theDeclaration of Independence-that all menarc created equal?

It should be apparent that the questionraised by the chairman poses intolerablealternatives. Any witness confronted withsuch a question, involving so many possibleinterpretations of the meaning of a word,would have every reason for pleading theFifth Amendment, for nothing is morelikely than that he would incriminate

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himself if he tried to answer i t . With allthese hosts of meanings the word cannot be

meaning of democracy lay in the inabilityto envisage all the steps necessary to assure

used with sufficient exactness to ask or tostate anything. If a congressional commit-tee found it necessary to get the answer tosuch a question, it would be necessary firstto issue cards to true democrats. Thenthe committee could ask an answerablequestion : Are you a card-carrying demo-crat

None of this should be interpreted tomean that Deweys use of the word democ-racy was merely ridiculous. Nothing couldbe further from the truth. Analysis makesit appear ridiculous, but synthesis presentsa different face. Dewey intended to suggestthat democracy was an all-embracing con-cept. encompassing all areas and activitiesof life. He believed that if democracy wasto exist at all it must be applied in all as-pects of the life of the people. In otherwords: democracy is an ideology, a com-plex of interrelated ideas.

There is not space here to show how allthe pieces fit into the whole, but it can beat least suggested. Dewey started with theview that democracy means equal partici-pation by all in making decisions andsharing in the benefits of society. For thisto be put into practice numerous conditionsmust be met. If there are great inequalitiesin wealth: there will be consequent inequal-ities i n power and the subsequent abilitv 1 0participate. Therefore, gross inequalities inwealth must be wiped out. The graduatedincome tax, for example, would be a devicefor accomplishing this in part.

But, people do not have equal abilities.To give equal opportunity to people of un-equal abilities there must be some agencyto act on behalf of the less gifted. In theschoolsr for example, infinite attention maybe lavished on the less gifted, bringingthem to a level with relatively neglectedmore gifted pupils. Is it possible, then,that Deweys uncertainty as to the full

the realization of democracy? Who ouldimagine all the steps necessary to the mak-ing of all men equal?Dewey, whether he was aware of it ornot, made democracy a total concept. Theapplication of his ideas to society wouldbe totalitarianism. Dewey was much con-cerned to preserve the United States fromEuropean varieties of totalitarianism, yetin order to do this he proposed total de-mocracy. Totalitarianism is monolithic,one-directional, unitary, demanding totalallegiance to an ideology, or to the statewhich acts to realize the ideology. Undertotalitarianism all aspects of life arebrought into accord with this ideology, alldisruptive ideas or forces are removed. Isthis not what Dewey proposed by the in.strumentation of democracy?BUT I T M A Y BE O B J E C T E D that Deweyloved freedom, that he was the outstandingproponent of diversity. Supposing this weretrue, it is reasonable to ask how he pro-posed to buttress freedom or preserve di-versity. Primarily, he placed his hopes inparticipation by the people in the makingof decisions. Now it is clear that participa-tion is of the essence of democracy in itsoriginal signification, but the relation ofparticipation to freedom is not so clear.Suppose the majority vote to remove somefreedom-say, to have censorship of thepress. If everyone in the land had votedupon the matter it would make it no lessa lessening of freedom.

It may be objected that the majoritywill not act in this way, that their partici-pation insures the preservation and exten-sion of liberty. There is little basis in factfor such an assumption. The Nazi party gota plurality of the votes in the last freeelection held in Germany before WorldWar 11. If reports are to be believed, some-

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thing like 99 per cent of those qualified inthe Soviet Union vote in elections. Nor hasthe extension of suffrage in the UnitedStates since the Civil War resulted in newliberties being added in America. On thecontrary, there has been a steady attritionof liberty since that time, though the twothings are not necessarily related. Partici-pation by the electorate is hardly a guaran-tee of the preservation of traditional free-dom. Diversity is hardly furthered underpresent conditions of transportation andcommunication by participation either.Of course, those who set up the UnitedStates government did not derive libertyfrom men but from man and his nature.They believed thdt liberty was a naturalright according to natural law, not some-thing bequeathed by government or themajority. I t was not the right of govern-ment to take these liberties away, nor wasit the right of the majority, though theymight usurp them, even under the UnitedStates Constitution, though every impedi-ment was thrown in the way of the peopledoing so. While some, like Jefferson, be-lieved that participation of the peoplewould tend to preserve these rights, theywould not have equated participation withliberty.

Dewey did not believe in natural lawand natural rights. His belief in freedomhad no such foundation, if it had anyfoundation at all. There was no arbiter forDewey beyond what is and what the peo-ple want, no natural laws limiting what thepeople may do and have, nothing beyondthe majority to which to appeal. Hence, heplaced no limits upon the power vestedin the people and did not believe thatthere were any. Total power would bevested in the people. If they accepted hisprescription, they would act to realize atotal concept-democracy. No doubt, theywould act through the government as wellas through other agencies (until these

agencies were absorbed into the govern-ment) in wielding their power. These arethe elements necessary to totalitarianism.

The bones of the creature are now laidbare. On the one hand, democracy is anextremely ambiguous word, loaded with avariety of meanings, vague and imprecise.It carries with it also the implication ofapproval and value. On the other hand, ithas become an ideology for the total or-ganization of society. Such a word can-not be used when the object is clearthought; it should not be used to promoteprograms whose acceptance is urged be-cause they are democratic. The latteruse is argument in a circle. It goes some-thing like this: democracy is a good tobe sought; this program is democratic;ergo, this program is good and ought tobe adopted. Certainly democracy is notthe same thing as freedom, an d th er e isno reason or using them as synonyms.Representative or popular government isone thing; liberty or freedom is somethingelse.

There is a way out of this circle. Re-sponsible people will avoid the use ofdemocracy without first defining it. Havingdefined it they will restrict themselves tothat usage. Even this may not be enough,however; it has been used for propaganda,for persuasion, and as a substitute for po-litical thought so long that it cannot beeasily divested of its accretions of mean-ings. Anyone desiring to engage in logicalthinking or in reasonable examination ofissues will be very careful in using theword.

All of this would not be so importantif there were not so great a need for newpolitical thought, or at least for rethinkingou r assumptions and beliefs. How long hasit been since an amendment was added tothe Constitution extending traditional lib-erties? Is this because liberties are not indanger? No Developments in advertising,

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in law enforcement, in directing thought,in bringing pressure, in fighting wars, intaxation, in communication definitely havebrought a circumscription of liberties. Yettwentieth:century America is a wastelandso far as political thought is concerned. Inpart, at least, this absence of thought canbe laid to the fact that thinkers have beenmesmerized by the pleasing sound of theword democracy. They should cease theirgenuflections before this vague, imprecise,and loaded word. Everyone of the mean-ings which Dewey assigned to democracyneeds to be examined on its own merit,not artificially bolstered by a magic word.

'Harold R. Bruce, American National Govern-ment (rev. ed.; New York, 1957), pp. 5-9.'James M. Burns and Jack W. Peltason, Gov-ernment by the People (Englewood Cliffs N.J.,1957, third edition), pp. 8-13.3John Dewey, Democracy and Education (NewYork, 1916).'Some examples in addition to the titles listedin the footnotes below are: Industrial Educationand Democracy, Survey, XXIX (March 22,1913) ; Practical Democracy, New Republic ,XLIV (December 2, 1925) ; Democracy in Edu-cation. National Education Association Journal,XVIII (December, 1929) .'John Dewey, The Challenge ofto Education, Progressive Educationprinted in John Dewey, Problems ofYork, 1946). Page numbers cited arelems of Men.bid., p. 56.'As quoted by Herman H. Horne,

Democracy(1937) , re-M e n (Newfrom Prob-

The Demo-

cratic Philosophy o Education (New York,1933), p. xii.' lbid., p. xiii.'Dewey, Problems o Men, pp. 52-53.lbid., pp. 57-58.lbid., p. 35.=lbid., p. 36.1bid., p 34.'9bid., p. 63.uJohn Dewey, Freedom and Culture (NewYork, 19391, p. 128.Dewey, Problems of M e n , p. 47.lbid., p. 35.lbid., p. 48.'*Dewey, Freedom and Culture, p 129.lbid., pp 139-40, 376.Dewey, Democracy and Education, p 357.Ibid., p: 401.Ibid.Dewey, Freedom and Culture, p 148.'9bid., p. 125.=lbid., p. 124.

%Dewey, Freedom and Culture, p. 130.Dewey, Problems of Men, p. 35.Dewey, Democracy and Education, p. 300.7

For example, see Dewey, Democracy andSee also Dewey, Problems of Men, pp. 37,Ibid., p. 60.

341bid.,pp 44-45.3slbid., p. 58.Dewey, Democracy and Education, p. 101.3 F~1- xample, see Dewey, Freedom and Cul-Ibid., pp. 93, 176.

QDewey, Problems o M e n , pp. 57-58.lbid., p 47.4'lbid.43Dewey, Freedom and Culture, p 13.''1bid.

8

Education, pp. 142, 357, 376.74.

w d . , p. 15.36

ture, p. 126.Dewey, Democracy and Education, p. v.0

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the concept of democracy and john dewey - carson - modem age, spring 1960.pdf

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