If inquirers confine themselves to observed phenomena, the behavior of kings, presidents, legislators, judges, sheriffs, assessors and all other public officials, surely a reasonable consensus is not difficult to attain.
Dewey asserts that a consensus can be reached by focusing on observable actions of public officials, despite differing opinions on their roles.
Share
More from John Dewey
There are even those who hold that the presumption is always that social loss will result from agents of the public doing anything which could be done by persons in their private capacity.
In other words, every officer of the public, whether he represents it as a voter or as a stated official, has a dual capacity.
Personal loyalties to elders take the place of political obedience.
But it indicates where the problem resides, whatever guise it assumes.