Would a Contemporary Deweyan Democracy Be Marxist? New Times, New Philosophies, New Educational Directions

• In Event: 26.054 - Contemporary Interpretations and Enactments of John Dewey's Legacy

Abstract

This proposed paper answers the question of the title by updating Dewey’s concept of democracy for a new time and an American society that in many ways is different from that of Dewey’s day. The neo-pragmatist view of this paper might well have met his approval even as it critiques aspects of the conception he advocated.

Dewey would not have been Marxist. Why does this matter? Today’s debates about democracy and generally pit liberal against critical theories. An‘updated Dewey’ reconstructs a participatory conception through post-marxist insights. To do this, political theory from Chantal Mouffe is read against Dewey. What emerges is an new ‘associative’ democracy.

Author

• Lynda Stone, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill