The identification of the state with government has the advantage of keeping the mind’s eye upon concrete and observable facts; but it involves an unaccountable separation between rulers and people.
Dewey discusses the implications of identifying the state with government, noting the disconnect it creates between rulers and the populace.
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There was no logic which rendered necessary the appeal to the individual as an independent and isolated being.
What is significant is that access to means of amusement has been rendered easy and cheap beyond anything known in the past.
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 other words, every officer of the public, whether he represents it as a voter or as a stated official, has a dual capacity.