Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
John Dewey envisioned the “American experiment” of democracy as a moral and ethical ideal, lived out in personal habits and “in our daily walk and conversation.”1 More than mere external political forms or institutional arrangements, Deweyan democracy is a “personal way of life.”2 Democratic political organizing is typically captured in campaigns focused on single issues, but broad-based community organizing (BBCO) is more closely aligned to Deweyan radical democracy as an ethical way of life. This kind of organizing is “relational organizing” that, as Mark Warren says, brings people “together first to discuss the needs of their community and to find a common ground for action.”3 BBCO is first and foremost about organizing relationships around values to create relational power. The value-laden relationships are enacted through a political culture consisting of radically democratic social practices.This essay will turn to how various publics habituate individuals in radically democratic social practices and what political conditions are required for individuals and groups to engage in an ethical way of life free of domination and arbitrary influence. I have a particular interest in showing how the political culture of Deweyan ethical democracy is lived out in BBCO and that it not be prejudiced against sacred values commonly held dear by religious political participants. Sacred values are an important part of the political cultures of groups embattled in some of the most urgent political fights of our day. To make this case I turn first to Dewey's thought on democracy. But there are particular problematics that exist in Dewey's thinking of the political, namely with regard to stark challenges in our time regarding the role of power in democracy and the dangers white supremacy poses for radical democracy. Sheldon Wolin's democratic theory might be one potential source to address these problematics, but his notions of democratic fugitivity and his politics of tending ultimately fall short, too. My reading of Cornel West's work helps to address these shortcomings in Dewey and Wolin and in so doing come to terms with the way everyday patient work of BBCO recasts Dewey's and Wolin's theories of radical democracy. Bringing BBCO together with Dewey, Wolin, and West generates a unique theory of radical democracy that is capacious enough for political struggles involving sacred values and honest enough about white supremacy and power in democratic life.To be radical, democracy must start at the root of our associational life, asking questions about the kind of persons and power formed within groups. This ethical conception of democracy places a premium on democratic individuality and each individual's potential to political participation.4 Democracy as merely about institutional arrangements or states of affairs is too “external” for Dewey. Democratic societies arise from personal “ways of life” and “habits.”5 To say that democracy is “social” and “ethical” means that democracy exists as a form of government and in its institutions only insofar as it exists in the “dispositions and habits” of its individual members.6Democratic individuality requires individuals take responsibility for freely taken choices that are possible only in association with others.7 Dewey is concerned about cultivating a democratic society grounded in self-reliant individuality.8 The heart of the ethics of democracy is democratic individuality: a form of association that consists in “having a responsible share according to capacity in forming and directing the activity of the group to which one belongs and in participating according to need in the values which the groups sustain.”9 My sense of democratic individuality is built off of work done by Dewey, Wolin, and West, and my own contribution to this conversation will develop slowly throughout this paper as I correct and affirm aspects of radical democracy in Dewey, Wolin, and West. A recent volume on democratic individuality and William James by Stephen Bush is another noteworthy version of what I mean to call attention to: habitual character formation and formation of selfhood that is only possible in certain kinds of associational life.10 Individuality here is contrasted with individualism and forms of group life that are individualist and purport that the self is an isolatable atom from its surrounding material reality and the relationships that support its life.Democratic individuality not only emphasizes responsibility for freely taken choices in society, but also raises the challenge of self-reliance over against a culture of conformity. This social view of the self raises the possibility that one's values and interests cannot be realized or accurately recognized until one cultivates and establishes relations that are free in the sense of lacking domination and arbitrary influence over one's life.11 One way of putting this kind of responsibility in a democratic community is BBCO's term of “self-interest.”Democratic politics is fundamentally about the collective pursuit of the common good. One's self-interest is a crucial part of democratic politics because, self-interest, as Jeffrey Stout writes, “is the interest that everyone who wishes to avoid domination has in the common good.”12 Self-interest is a crucial part of democratic individuality as it requires recognizing one's responsibility for, accountability to, and participation in the broader democratic community. Democratic individuality is crucial to overcoming certain political deformations in our collective life; but such overcoming is only possible by reflecting on the values and relationships that make such a politics possible in the first place. Romand Coles looks to the Latin to highlight the relational root of self-interest (inter esse—meaning “between-being”): “at the same time that a focus on self-interest propels the cultivation of self-recognition, respect, and determination, this focus on self-interest also propels us into receptive political relationships with others.”13 Self-interest properly understood (not either selfishness nor altruistic do-gooderism) has a “real-depth” and is most accurately identified when the individual's good is identified with the community's good.14Democratic individuality requires individuals take responsibility for freely taken choices that are possible only in association with others.15 Ethical and social democracy is primarily concerned with the kinds of individuality habituated in associational life. Radical democracy needs to be grounded in what Dewey's forerunner, the protopragmatist and philosopher of democracy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, called self-reliance.16 Dewey's attention is attuned to the democratic ways of life that are habituated in groups, but also with the quality of communication present in associational life between publics. Ethical and social democracy “is not an alternative to other principles of associated life. It is the idea of community life itself.”17 To think of the ethics of democracy is to first turn to the conditions of self-actualization and reasoning present in our society, and second to the quality of the social practices and the values attended to in each group. Some of these values present in BBCO are sacred values and they play an especially important role in the radically democratic social practices of BBCO.We accord sacred value to those goods we take to be inviolable, objective, and intrinsically valuable. To accord something sacred value is than it to be values are grounded in the broader social of practices are social they are in and goods and external to the A social of that are held to and responsible for their a need not the or nor is it of such and that our be radically only within certain To be a in a one needs to enough in the social of reasoning so that as in the same way as the A social of sacred value the of in time and it for and of our and also for the possibility of radical of and and Jeffrey those who have sacred most about the this is not the to into the of sacred it might to some in about my social of sacred is unique about my contribution to this conversation on sacred value is the between sacred and radical democracy that and Dewey's and Wolin's theory of radical democracy through conversation with Cornel West. my that as a to value certain as sacred values are held to certain in the as in certain relations of as to and between other and to their religious and ethical community. the has throughout time of sacred value have and individual have taken these as and these of value in their everyday social of sacred values requires certain political conditions to avoid domination and arbitrary influence. when a influence our of reasoning at my we one another for our and and us and responsible for those This emphasizes and accountability within the way that Deweyan ethical democracy our attention to the quality of the social practices and values is by asking us to think about political Democratic political cultures in and relationships grounded in habits and social practices that first in the life of groups and It is crucial to that the political culture habits and social practices of a of radical democracy is habits are in the of a democratic but they are not merely are habituated into the and of groups. the conditions which the and of together with its and of thought and social and but they are of and by for social and on the part of the of create the conditions of which the of and only take Democracy as a habitual way of life has to with what democracy looks and each in its political culture of BBCO consists of democratic each a part of a relational this ethical way of life in habits of thought and To of political culture is to say certain and values are are This is as writes, is the of and this is in and institutions of the values and their are not from democratic habits that make the work of organizing accountability and around a a or in The habitual life of a the between collective values and self-interest, political culture and democratic political culture the broader of who we what we most for, and what we are to for those sacred values or in to attention to political culture helps us how democratic habits and we to the role values play in and only focus on political This to a of democracy as merely a of affairs or institutional and not as an ethical way of the of how the for and a collective to the of a in the of a in the as for his life the to a the time of in a of on activity and practices in but they not taken the white for how a to this our a for this particular it a case is and it time to make a the held a a with The of the of of the a to a of and throughout the for to the a of its institutions to the A called to discuss the this of unique a in the that with white and groups in the same this kind of for out a democratic political its values in and a important the has done a good of But I one that that we people in the not in the of but it is to this as that of the political on their values and self-interest in the as a group that the of a value they held that of life, and as is The of their sacred value their The political culture of in this through habits and practices and the group to in a a sacred value within their political culture that the ethical life of radical democracy publics is as important as the quality of democracy in the broader political The and its Dewey that ethical and social democracy is grounded in a theory of publics about and on interests that are groups formed around of which are in important ways the persons and concerned in crucial from Dewey's of that are for our conversation on radical democracy and The that a of radical democracy in BBCO than the that has radical democracy as I it that there is something to in Dewey, for his that publics not only of and are ethical for democracy that cannot be captured in the kinds of community most in groups BBCO is for the and of and and Dewey The community is the of ethical and social is out in the that BBCO with institutions and a called relational that establishes a on self-interest and the values that might ground and participation in the BBCO The first in organizing is to engage in relational enough relational a be formed between individuals and their institutions on values and or the for a to is that BBCO has and cannot The to be that BBCO is too and cannot address political at the or is some to this some BBCO to some BBCO have too in the that politics is But BBCO has its organizing at the in political on the that relational other BBCO are and the social of radical democracy as an ethical way of life to More needs to be on the theory of and BBCO but such a is the BBCO will democratic only insofar as they habituate into the social of radical democracy within and between its various publics are more than relationships and those who are concerned with the and and of certain A democratic consists of and individuals who engage in democratic habits and practices grounded in values and interests by the of to that only those those who are by and of between persons in the into publics insofar as they to for and their interests and values that are and by and More needs to be on radically democratic especially in regard to what the and but I have the I to turn to Wolin's and West's to Deweyan ethical Wolin that Dewey's ethical democracy, for of its moral and ethical democracy. Dewey's democracy is on its of Wolin Dewey's focus on and democracy to a of Wolin “is to democratic it of so that it with the form in the of the Dewey's most crucial and ways of questions about To Wolin, Deweyan radical democracy of that the and of that cannot be to of or Radical democracy needs to be of its that a correct of will a political culture and with democracy. of a of radically democratic political Wolin to of and power his version of democracy as an of on the of the West not as as Wolin in Dewey's a version of democracy. Dewey, West there is a crucial between the and But Dewey's in the power of through a to an and of Dewey is one of the most democratic in the in the but his democratic community is and Dewey's of are and Dewey not how his on radically democratic political cultures are formed and by social and of power that and democratic individuality and community. to Dewey's and his in democratic West to religious and in his version of radical democracy is and democracy as it is on the of the political is from democratic The political is the of the Wolin is and the a of political is the activity of between and for to the to political is and Wolin the political is Wolin's it is the political as by the that is democracy and what it means to be the I will come to radical democracy as it is in BBCO particular challenges for Wolin's of fugitivity and his politics of challenges to the heart of Wolin's conception of radical the of on the of the political and the of what Wolin a politics of has to and Wolin's conception of fugitivity by own between democratic and fugitivity is a within political us and belongs in the This is of of the and of the to the of and the and way that has for the and the practices of democratic The between democratic and fugitivity be but of be in life and which a than Wolin to democratic or who democratic practices as their as is and as their political to I work to Wolin's sense of fugitivity and a politics of tending in to come to terms with radical democracy as it is in Wolin and Dewey crucial into radical democracy, but need to turn to West's work to the of white supremacy and power in our it helps to Wolin's view out in of to Wolin, a focus on politics the political has political from and forms of power. power as it is in the is primarily The political life, so that politics is merely and through communication and the are more (not political at the of a reality built on an politics by the is by interests and the free and so society is other aspects of life are to be the of and of power has by a of power that power power is and and might be in the Wolin in “is a form of power that the domination of the by its to the of society at the same time the of society are Wolin come to call this of political life, and at the of is the of a democratic political Wolin writes, between democratic and an that has into another is a that is not a of and It is a in which politics and a a other social and political relationships are and by relationships that are of their material and The is a form of political power that is that its power through thought of or is politics the and by a political the of a politics of of democracy, our The and of to the of the of The power of democracy is the alternative political in the of the This out of time and out of with power. It is a of that is to and present democracy to play a political It is to than democracy and democratic that to of in its own we will come to I Wolin's sense of fugitivity with the and patient work of radical democracy in of in a helps my of radical democracy. The of our political are by and for and this political are more not only their but their and Wolin's democracy the by democracy as grounded in a and a democratic political politics of tending is crucial to the democratic political culture at the heart of Wolin's democracy. Wolin to make the of and in a politics of attention to and for and Wolin writes, and so requires to between within the same Wolin tending to as to democracy it and and not democracy is for the which and democracy, is the of and against democracy of democracy are to that to the are but only for politics not the political, are and a Dewey's of and political culture with power and this that democratic politics is not his Wolin is about the possibility of democratic the term in Democracy and The of the and politics in is is the and of the on the of the political that a democratic politics of publics. a Wolin writes, in the that of the need to to as radical democracy with Dewey's of publics and political it not Dewey too by in the and not the of forms of power that the politics is a politics of tending to in of a a politics of tending be in politics and as it is by those and in is crucial to of radical democracy. Wolin about democracy in a way that a of the its and are out of is an and in Wolin's democracy, but such a from the and patient work in democratic politics that requires democratic of and as political and of the need to be to as they are in their and I cannot how a politics of tending is the time in Wolin's sense of the political or democracy and a politics of tending in the I to to of fugitivity that the that Wolin wishes to on the of the political at possible in Wolin's democracy. I such be by of fugitivity from the Wolin about democracy in terms of people together as political but not on how such a politics is possible conditions of of the of a of democracy, but his of the political is only the attention Wolin's democracy to the and of white conception of fugitivity and a politics of tending is to come to terms with radical democracy as I have it in it Wolin has radical democracy to the of the political, us to engage in the work of democratic as attention that Wolin to the of democratic political to take how white supremacy and political and my organizing I how the political culture of a BBCO certain and of are certain of are at certain into the cultivation and of the of recent I have by in and the that have the work of of organizing that not the To the of democratic politics as a of the that politics be to the that arise from our and and religious It is to a form of as of the on the of the that about a to by an grounded in the sacred value of people in the political grounded in a of fugitivity by some of its own its in the as it to the of the of fugitivity are not in of but certain values and are the for and the ethics of democracy in a each together with their own as one of a a to this to these what a politics of tending in and the of Radical democracy as it is in BBCO is and patient democracy as it is in BBCO recasts Wolin's sense of fugitivity and a politics of tending in way that with Cornel West's sense of the radical democracy is to a of political democratic a politics of tending and it needs more than Dewey and Wolin have It needs a white supremacy by these the version of radical democracy here cannot with Cornel West's that individuality is the moral of persons are West the and of each with value and I call this radical idea the of of individuality within The for in to my is the to democratic a as individuals the and of and This is by the for and social the of the of our and struggles are cannot in the and of people in the in a with and and West's sense of the is with and The in the to the of for in the of of of those West's religious with a sense of The the and are not mere but are and political and and as the that they and understood as and are West what is about one with West, as a principles such as of for to a West on the value of those principles religious is it more than the more than through the of life more than at the of the life. is in the is not our The of and the and the the and The West's into this for of the for democracy the more crucial to the possibility of individual and social individuality and the Democratic by on accountability and Democratic individuality and social that institutions are to their and make freely the participation to such democratic participation of people in the of institutions that and their West writes, “is a for the of of individuality in The of individuality at the heart of not be realized a with democracy. West's of is to radical democracy. To is to call out to what is and against the of the present The of white supremacy a for West and conception of radical democracy needs to with the to which white supremacy our and supremacy is in society, more than or supremacy exists not only in the of the or the political interests of a white supremacy also to the of and its and which and develop and of and and so that certain are and West's of emphasizes how the everyday life of people “is not by the of but also by and A in our and is by our of that of and West's how his of power from or material exists when people over the of their own the power is political or and need to the aspects of their that this of individual and democratic in the of and white West, and are in a particular and cultures that are as and and into a social and a way the in is to of their of the possibility of at political The is not to these The is to how and be for The of in social of individual and collective for the within must practices the role they play in the of the of and the of the political But as as have this also for within and to form a and is and by the of social and but the of the contribution of as a and religious is too and in its of power and to address in our and throughout West's work is his with the power to radical democracy. West of a premium on the kind of one to be than the of one religious for democratic are of forms of democracy as an as it is for Dewey and Wolin, is a way of life, a way of for West. is more of a than a West writes, is more a and collective than a or This a of that cultivates democratic individuality and radical most of West's have an in West's between and his One way to this challenge to West is by not West in this of It is that West's to radical democracy in unique in ways other It moral and helps us our political But West think are in the of such they West has on his own unique and as a and a radical says, radical democracy for is not an institutional or form of but also a way of life and the of and the of the radical democracy are closely not Radical democracy for West has a and his individual as a to be in of his on democratic individuality than a for radical with radical democracy be its religious participants. we in the of some of the most urgent fights in are grounded in values that democratic publics The of to the and of and a a politics of of to of in sacred is of the that has taken these are we this democratic on of self-interest within have to come with their own for these Self-interest is an important part of the of have to be to and the group has to relational around values and that arise from of democratic life democracy in BBCO is patient and it is but it is not done by to the reality of radical democracy and sacred value to an of white The term sacred value is to be capacious enough to avoid between religious and has about a political culture and the values to radical democracy need to attention to the role of especially sacred values in and on the political culture that Dewey, Wolin, and West to us
Aaron Stauffer (Sat,) studied this question.