A Democratic Ideal for Troubled Times: John Dewey, Civic Action, and Peaceful Conflict Resolution

In an era defined by events that continuously shake Fukuyama’s thesis according to which liberal democracy constitutes the end of history, there is need for a democratic ideal that puts the role of civic action at the heart of its justification. In this article, I argue that John Dewey’s democratic ideal understood as a matter of civic co-creation, where democratic pursuits are continually redefined by citizens through solving communal problems – not set by history, once and for all – provides a valuable response to this need. To this end, this article reconsiders Deweyan democracy by: (1) presenting it as a transformational process, in opposition to liberal democracy; (2) discussing Dewey’s conception of active citizenship as requiring more than mere political participation; (3) articulating Dewey’s democratic ideal as a form of applied social intelligence; (4) making explicit the pedagogical consequences of Deweyan democracy; and (5) interpreting it as a form of peaceful conflict resolution aiming at balance in inter-personal relationships.