This is why the family and neighborhood, with all their deficiencies, have always been the chief agencies of nurture, the means by which dispositions are stably formed and ideas acquired which laid hold on the roots of character.
Dewey discusses the foundational role of family and neighborhood in shaping character and ideas.
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The relationships of husband and wife, parent and children, older and younger children, friend and friend, are the bonds from which authority proceeds.
The clear consciousness of a communal life, in all its implications, constitutes the idea of democracy.
The idea remains barren and empty save as it is incarnated in human relationships.
It rules but it does not regulate; for its rule is confined to receipt of tribute and ceremonial deference.