But this does not mean that some mysterious collective agency is making decisions, but that some few persons who know what they are about are taking advantage of massed force to conduct the mob their way, boss a political machine, and manage the affairs of corporate business.
Dewey clarifies that decisions are made by individuals leveraging collective power, not by an abstract collective agency.
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What he believes, hopes for and aims at is the outcome of association and intercourse.
They are reflections into the singular human being of customs and institutions; they are not natural, that is, “native,” organic propensities.
In no two ages or places is there the same public.
Custom consolidates what accident may have originated; established power has a way of legitimizing itself.