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Show Restoring Faith In Democracy By John Dewey, Ph. D., LL. D. Professor Emeritus of Philosohy, j Columbia University Founder of the League for Independent Political Action I am not considering- Democracy in its political aspects, as a form of government Involving universal suffrage and elected officials. Our forms of government are I forms of machinery for getting things done, there is nothing especially es-pecially sacred about them, practically pract-ically important as they may be. We all of us realize that in these forms changes have taken place as different means arc found. if we have a restoration of prosperity. pros-perity. Another evil which has developed develop-ed is a very real though un. conscious insincerity. We still try to make ourselves think that we are living under genuine democratic demo-cratic conditions and that there is still a real equal opportunity for normal, well-disposed individuals. Anatole France said that under our law, there is equality for the rich and poor alike, either to sleep or not to sleep on park benches. That is legal equality and it is the type of equality with which we try to console ourselves in our failure fail-ure to realize fundamental human and moral equality. This is not because be-cause of evil intent but because we have this economic situation, new in history, which came upon us when we were not prepared for it. We have, therefore, new problems which we have to face If our inherited in-herited ethical and spiritual ideals are to be made real. I think it not at all surprising, and yet very encouraging, that our churches, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, have quite Independently of each other, made-statements and issued, you might almost call them, "pronunciatmentos," setting forth the moral and spiritual seriousness seri-ousness of the problems that are bound up with our new economic situation. We have had an automatic social change, a growth of new conditions. It is this inherent slt-utation slt-utation rather than any individual's individ-ual's conscious will and purpose which has created our problems. But they must now be met and dealt with by personal acknowledgement, acknow-ledgement, personal desire and purpose, unless they are going to tear down the ethical structure of modern society we have been so long In building. The Churchman. lng the course of human history, prevented the adequate realization of personality of a large part of the population. Democracy was a faith in human nature itself, a belief that every normal person has things In him worth developing develop-ing which society cannot afford to have enslaved or suppressed. What our forefathers meant by saying that all persons are born equal was that they were born morally equal, in the right to development at least of whatever capacities and powers they have. When we lose faith in that kind of equality we are losing faith in the fundamental, fundament-al, the moral, conception of Democracy Dem-ocracy itself. It is this faith which is back of American faith in public education. Various at-tempts at-tempts have been made to improve and develop our educational system sys-tem so that it shall hot just impose im-pose things on the young but help bring out whatever is significant in them. This faith has been back of the series of our social and political poli-tical reforms. Changes which have taken place in American life make the realization realiz-ation of this ideal very much more dlffcult at present than in. the early history. During the first two-thirds of American history our country was predominantly agricultural. Life as a whole was controlled in its temper, attitude and -purpose by the fact that we had a great continent full of unused un-used materials and resources of all kinds. It is a curious and somewhat some-what ironical fact that the Civil War which ended in freeing the slaves marks the beginning period of the great change of this country coun-try from an agricultural to an industrial in-dustrial country. While extending extend-ing the blessings of liberty to Negroes, it made more difficult its realization for the mass of the population. For the Industrial and financial development of the country coun-try led rapidly to the taking up of land and the appropriation of the natural resources which before had always provided a frontier. The main question I wish to suggest, therefore, is: Is it possible to maintain our primitive democratic democ-ratic faith under the conditions of modern industry and modern 11 nance? Can the ethical phase of Democracy be realized without very great changes in our economic eco-nomic system? That is our real problem. These ideals were developed in our country when industry was carried on by hand, and the means, the tools of production . and the materials, were under the control of the worker. That situation was much more favorable to the idea of the development of individual powers than is the situation which exists in the machine a:e. Personal Per-sonal skill and energy have been replaced by machines that require for their operation a large amount wealth in itself a force which tends of capital. The concentration of to invade the positive development of individuality. Mass production subordinates personality to an outside out-side mechanical force. The situation situa-tion did not come about because of any bad intent of human nature. It came about in connection with forces that in themselves made for . progress in many directions. j Individuals, because of this change, have lost to a very considerable con-siderable extent the power to con- 1 trol their own work and action. Their ability for self-government has been largely taken out of their own hands... This situation has come upon us so naturally and I inevitably that only very recently I have we begun to ask seriously j what is the effect of our economic I development of character, mind, judgment and other questions of personality which we prize most. During the early period of our history competition was not an ! evil thing. . It served a definite i moral purpose. It was fundamentally funda-mentally man's struggle with nature, with forces outside him rather than a struggle of individuals individ-uals with each other. It provoked emulation which served to stimulate stimu-late the powers of Individuals tj arouse their minds, evoke their industry, and so it contributed in many ways to social progress. The change In general industrial and economic conditions has given competition quite a different mean ing. More and more competition is now for pecuniary profit. It operates on a large scale, commands com-mands a great organization and concentration of capital, which it never had until this comparatively comparative-ly new era in human history. Consequently, Con-sequently, from the moral point of view, competition has a mucii harsher and more brutal meaning under modern conditions than in the first two-thirds period of our national life. When some few competitors have at their command com-mand great aggregates of capital end have control of the whole machinery of production and distribution evils are bound to result. There is excessive stimulation stimu-lation of self-interest on one side and virtual subjugation among those crushed in competition. We try in vain to make this goo.l by personal charity. Such a condition makes it extremely difficult to bring about the effective realiz-tion realiz-tion of faith in Democracy. When these inequalities of a material sort are such a kind as to threaten the security of millions of people through unemployment, material conditions have a very definite moral repercussion and effect. Physical suffering is badj enough. The greater evil is the inevitable demoralization, the breaking down of personality, among the people willing, anxious and able to work who cannot get any outlet and are compelled to live on charity. The ethical consequences con-sequences of our present demoralization demoral-ization are things that may take years and years to overcome even I There are, however, ideals which machinery is intended to serve. It is these ideals which constitute moral aspects of Demcracy, the ethical and spiritual end of our democratic faith, that frames our whole social life in this country. This faith had as its animating Idea not merely the production of certain improvements in the machinery mach-inery of government. We have become so familiar with this that we do not realize our full responsibility respon-sibility for having done the pioneer pio-neer work of introducing a new moral conception and a moral ideal into the world to serve as the basis of social institutions. At the present time we are living in a period of criticism of this faith. That is due to the fact that somehow, some-how, as often happens, the improvements im-provements have with the progress pro-gress of time got separated from the ends and ideals which the means were meant to serve. The mechanics of governmental institutions insti-tutions have somehow come to the foreground and crowded out ot sight the purposes and human consequences con-sequences which political machinery machin-ery was meant to serve. The restoration res-toration of faith in Democracy must depend, therefore, upon a very genuine revival of the spiritual spirit-ual ends and ideals which this machinery should serve. What was the original moral idea? A belief in the moral right, the moral claim, of every human being to the fullest possible development, de-velopment, liberation and realization realiz-ation in life of all the capacities and potentialities of each. We needed to break down all barriers of birth, family status, external position and authority which dur- |