On the record
The idea has influenced the concrete political movement, but it has not caused it.
Said by
John Dewey
Source
gutenberg.orgJohn Dewey: “The idea has influenced the concrete political movement, but it has not caused it.”
Editor's note · Context
Dewey asserts that while the idea of democracy has influenced political movements, it did not directly cause them.
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Ideas which are not communicated, shared, and reborn in expression are but soliloquy, and soliloquy is but broken and imperfect thought.
That and that only gives reality to public opinion.
Publication is partial and the public which results is partially informed and formed until the meanings it purveys pass from mouth to mouth.
Competition will continue, but it will be less rivalry for acquisition of material goods, and more an emulation of local groups to enrich direct experience with appreciatively enjoyed intellectual and artistic wealth.