Dewey's Interpretation of Democracy
Dewey's perspective on democracy and its preservation is one that rejects the need for institutions and totalitarian government and stresses the idea of it being something that individuals must personally consider and develop an understanding for. Personally, I really enjoyed this point of view and description of democracy. It offers a much more functional approach to how society can fully experience a democratic life as well as why a democratic life is important at all. Dewey presents ways in which to better understand democracy and the benefits thereof. His main points are that democracy cultivates a genuine appreciation for other people and that it also provides a safe platform for healthy, enriching debate amongst diverse people. All in all, democracy is a rewarding way of life and it is through the understanding of these main concepts that individuals will be able to fully experience the beauty of a democratic life.
To many, democracy is perceived as a form of government. Additionally, it is through the processes of government and its institutions that democracy is maintained in aspects of society. Dewey tries to diminish this notion and convince his readers to really view democracy as something more personal and individually manipulated, rather than governmentally controlled. "In any case we can escape from this external way of thinking only as we realize in thought and act that democracy is a personal way of individual life; that it signifies the possession and continual use of certain attitudes, forming personal character and determining desire and purpose in all the relations of life." This perspective allows me to expand my idea of democracy in a way like never before. Just like many, I typically view democracy as a way of government, neglecting the possibility of it being a personal way of living and associating. I find within this idea a newfound appreciation for democracy as I am able to see more clearly the true potential democracy can have if an individual takes a more personal approach to it. If an individual takes all the characteristics of democracy--such as, freedom, liberty, justice, equality, etc.--and cultivates a new posture towards people, with these principles being the foundation of this posture, democracy will naturally occur. In actuality, the reason why democracy may fail or be less evident sometimes in society could be because we, as citizens of the society, fail to characterize ourselves by these values. We hope and trust that our government will maintain this characterization; however, we see that it sometimes fails when injustices occur and freedoms are neglected. A possible solution to revamping democracy in times of decadence could be to begin a revolution and transformation in individuals. To elaborate, individuals must embody these various democratic values in order to create a genuinely democratic society.
Individuals who acquire Dewey's interpretation of democracy will discover a new faith in humanity. One key value that personifies this idea of democracy is respect; respect for other opinions, other religions, other physicality's, other ethnicities, etc. "Democracy is a way of personal life controlled not merely by faith in human nature in general but by faith in the capacity of human beings for intelligent judgment." Dewey makes a distinction here about true democratic faith compared to general faith. Someone who comprehends democracy and authentically tries to live a life that portrays it will uncover this interesting faith in humanity. This faith allows individuals to appreciate the mere idea that other people have their own reasoning and method for formulating opinions. This uniqueness in everyone, essentially, should be allowed and ultimately appreciated. This concept really resonates with me in that it extends the idea of equality and its importance to a more functional, relational level. I am a strong advocate of equal rights amongst any and every type of human; therefore, I believe this faith and appreciation for people can help advance the cause for true equality in society. With the personal endeavor to learn how to find the good in people, rather than assuming our differences equate to some disconnect between right and wrong, our society could undergo a tremendous democratic revitalization.
As this faith in humanity continues to build and more and more people find merit in approaching life in this way, discussions regarding controversies and differences will become less of an opportunity to ridicule. Dewey states that, "A genuinely democratic faith in peace is faith in the possibility of conducting disputes, controversies and conflicts as cooper-ative undertakings in which both parties learn by giving the other a chance to express itself." This approach is one where respect serves as the foundation for all human interaction. Because people respect one another they will be able to willingly and compassionately dispute different ideas and beliefs. Individuals who do not contain this sense of respect, or in Dewey's words "faith", will almost naturally try to diminish other people's viewpoint with harshness and condemnation. Dewey ultimately believes that a true democracy is one that contains individuals who freely converse and debate topics without resorting to any ounce of negative judgment. I believe that divides, separation, and stereotypes are created because people cannot refrain from using their emotions when they may be debating something. The democratic faith in people and the acknowledgement that people have a right to believe whatever they want must overwhelm every conversation so that no one feels as if their beliefs are unimportant, idiotic, or wrong. All in all, I find myself very aligned with Dewey's viewpoint on democracy.
Like you, I have never though democracy to be anything other than a political idea. I'm going to be devils advocate and say that democracy as a personal way of thinking is not plausible. Dewey stated, "For to get rid of the habit of thinking of democracy as something institutional and external and to acquire the habit of treating it as a way of personal life is to realize that democracy is a moral ideal and so far as it becomes a fact is a moral fact." I believe that Dewey places too much faith in humankind. He creates this utopia in which democracy is in the hands of human nature. I think Dewey, in a way, contradicts himself when discussing the article "Belief in a Common Man." He says that this belief is faith in human nature no matter the beings race, sex, etc. This faith must be placed in the minds of humans so that their attitudes in daily life, are essentially just and moral. This is where I do not agree with Dewey's claim that democracy is belief in the potentialities of man. HUMANS ARE FLAWED. Humans are untrustworthy, lazy, and some are vile beings. Appealing the morality of humans wont work because people have different morals. I don't believe there are common morals that every human being possesses. John Dewey may have faith in human beings but I certainly do not.... In your post you mention the quote where Dewey is talking about how the democratic faith in peace requires the possibility of conducting disputes, and cooperation; To some extent I don't believe this cooperation can be achieved. Dewey stated ,"Both parties learn by giving the other a chance to express itself, instead of having one party conquer by forceful suppression of the other-a suppression which is none the less one of violence." Cooperation is always something needed, but rarely achieved. I do believe violence occurs when cooperation is not successful. The possibility that ALL humans will cooperate with each other is far fetched. Humans are naturally selfish and only hope to gain an advantage over their opposition not an agreement. We seen this numerous times throughout world history.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading both this blogpost and its comment. I have to agree with Terrell, as I find myself to be more and more of pessimistic and cynical person when it comes to humans. However, I am going to try and take the middle ground approach to this in an effort to try and be more optimistic and realistic.
ReplyDeleteDewey’s optimistic belief that peoples moral compass will guide them to the right thing and to strive to educate themselves and others, so as to have intelligent and sophisticated conversations to better society. This optimism is great and I truly hope that one-day society will adopt this idea and form of liberalism to truly open minds and have their beliefs and views challenged without taking offense or irrationally retaliating just to spite them. However, I also agree with Terrell in the sense that humans in generally tend to err on the side of greediness, selfishness, laziness and the list goes on and on. Now these two polarized views, using too far left or right interchangeably with both views, are too far left and right.
There needs to be a middle ground, a realistic ground, where both the optimism and the pessimism meet to form reality where we realize that people have the capacity to do good, and wrong, As Terrell stated humans are flawed, but that does not mean that the world is going to blaze over and turn into a rampaging dystopia. Nor is it going to turn into beautiful meadow with rainbows and unicorns.
To roughly quote Jonah Goldberg and contradict Dewey: Government is not a way of life, but is a means to facilitate a way of life that society deems acceptable. We need a middle, bipartisan ground where people have discussions with one another on the streets, but also realize that democracy can only happen if people realize that there is not only a: Liberal or Illiberal, Conservative or Liberal, or Right and Left, but a middle ground where there is no concise or decisive way we can change and fix everything. Not to sound dreary and depressing, but there is only one shade of Gray which the whole world falls into.
I loved reading your post, seeing as your views are very similar to mine. After reading some of the comments, I can see both sides to this argument about democracy. However, I still do strongly believe in the belief that democracy is not just a governmental structure, but a way of life as well. I was personally not raised with the fact that democracy is just the government, because my mother has heavily invested her life into politics and history. Too many people have learned democracy to just be a governmental body that includes freedom, but it is so much more than that. As I said in class, our democracy (even though it is technically a republic) is failing because people do not fully grasp the democratic concept. This principle has as much to do with the treatment of each other as it does with how laws and leaders gain power. There are too many people in today’s economy that are without a job and on the street because of the discrimination of employers and corporations. In the article, he discusses how people should be able to freely discuss hot topics without overly offending someone. I see this as ideal even though it is not necessarily realistic since this is considered the time that everything offends everyone. I feel that if people could become more tolerant and incorporate democratic ideals into their lives, then many of our societal issues could be fixed overtime. It is not just the government that is responsible for creating your perfect life, but it is up to you as well.
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