The easiest way out was to go back to the naked individual, to sweep away all associations as foreign to his nature and rights save as they proceeded from his own voluntary choice, and guaranteed his own private ends.
Dewey critiques the reduction of individuals to isolated entities devoid of associations, emphasizing voluntary choice.
Share
More from John Dewey
In no two ages or places is there the same public.
Is the public much more than what a cynical diplomat once called Italy: a geographical expression?
The idea remains barren and empty save as it is incarnated in human relationships.
The democratic public is still largely inchoate and unorganized.