The instincts, whether named gregariousness, or sympathy, or the sense of mutual dependence, or domination on one side and abasement and subjection on the other, at best account for everything in general and nothing in particular.
Dewey critiques the vagueness of instincts like gregariousness in explaining specific social phenomena.
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Is the public much more than what a cynical diplomat once called Italy: a geographical expression?
There are even those who hold that the presumption is always that social loss will result from agents of the public doing anything which could be done by persons in their private capacity.
The democratic public is still largely inchoate and unorganized.
The idea remains barren and empty save as it is incarnated in human relationships.