It is not necessary that the many should have the knowledge and skill to carry on the needed investigations; what is required is that they have the ability to judge of the bearing of the knowledge supplied by others upon common concerns.
Dewey argues that the public does not need to conduct investigations but should be able to evaluate the relevance of expert knowledge.
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More from John Dewey
That the state should be to some a deity and to others a devil is another evidence of the defects of the premises from which discussion sets out.
If one wishes to realize the distance which may lie between “facts” and the meaning of facts, let one go to the field of social discussion.
For the very familiarity with the phenomena conceals their significance and blinds us to their relation to immediate political problems.
In other words, every officer of the public, whether he represents it as a voter or as a stated official, has a dual capacity.