Reviving Democracy: Twenty-First Century Challenges

Authors

Michele Moody-Adams

Publication Date

2023

Publication Title

Dewey Lectures

Streaming Media

Abstract

John Dewey defended a galvanizing ideal of liberal democracy in 1939, just as democracy was greatly endangered across the globe. Twenty-first century democracies are once again in existential danger, and many of Dewey’s insights about how to defend democracy against its authoritarian enemies continue to ring true. This presentation explored the twenty-first century implications of Dewey’s most prescient insights about how to prevent partisan polarization, strengthen trust in democratic institutions, develop individual commitment to a robust democratic civic ethos. The argument also drew on related ideas from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Jean Paul Lederach and Paul Farmer.

Recommended Citation

Moody-Adams, Michele, "Reviving Democracy: Twenty-First Century Challenges" (2023). Dewey Lectures. 15.
https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/dewey_lectures/15