John Dewey: “If the consequences of a friendship threaten the public, then it is…”

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If the consequences of a friendship threaten the public, then it is treated as a conspiracy; usually it is not the state’s business or concern.

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John Dewey

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Dewey discusses how friendships can be perceived as conspiracies when they threaten public interests.

More from John Dewey

In other words, every officer of the public, whether he represents it as a voter or as a stated official, has a dual capacity.

Freedom presented itself as an end in itself, though it signified in fact liberation from oppression and tradition.

But he does so only at the cost of repression of those of his potentialities which can be realized only through membership in other groups.

In this distinction we find the germ of the distinction between the private and the public.

John Dewey: “If the consequences of a friendship threaten the public, then it is treated as a conspiracy; usually it is not the…”