Intelligence and the Anti-Democratic Threat of the Authoritarian Right: A Deweyan Response

• In Event: Deweyan Responses to Authoritarianism, Artificial Intelligence, and Threats to Democratic Education

Abstract

This paper illustrates the continued relevance of John Dewey’s thought for our political reality by contrasting his understanding of intelligence with that emphasized within current strands of the authoritarian Right. Drawing from the recent historical analysis offered by Slobodian (2025), we argue that critical studies of neoliberalism in education must account for the complex fusion between neoliberal doctrine and authoritarianism, including the ways in which intelligence has been utilized to justify anti-democratic impulses. We also argue that Dewey offers an understanding of intelligence as socially mediated that is crucial for delegitimizing a conception of innate intelligence that is weaponized to support unjust political ideologies. Such analyses offer fundamental challenges to the intellectual structure of today’s anti-democratic political movements.

Authors

• Austin J. Pickup, Aurora University

• Jessica Heybach, Western Michigan University