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CREATIVE DEMOCRACY-THE TASK STILL BEFORE US*
In the 1950's-almost half a century ago-when I was working on my dissertation on John Dewey, I discovered one of his late essays that has always been one of my favorites. I find myself returning over and over again to this short essay, "Creative Democracy-The Task Before Us." I hope that, by the end of this essay, you will understand why. Let me begin by telling you about the occasion for which it was written and the circumstances surrounding it.1 Dewey wrote it for a conference celebrating his eightieth birthday in 1939. He was still intellectually alert and youthful in spirit. Dewey continued to be active until his death in 1952. Dewey pointed out that his own life had already spanned a period of more than half the life of the country in which events of the utmost significance for the destiny of democracy had occurred. It was characteristic of Dewey to return once again to the theme of democracy which had always stood at the center of his life and work, and to emphasize that it was still a task before us. Democracy was never simply one topic among others for Dewey. All of his thinking-whether concerning education, experience, aesthetics, philosophy, politics, or inquiry-sprang from and led back to reflections on democracy. His articulation of his vision of democracy in 1939 has a special poignancy, not only because of the ominous threat of the rise of the Nazis and the growing attacks on the very idea of democracy, but for another less well known reason.
Two years earlier, Dewey had agreed to serve as chairman of the Commission of Inquiry which was formed to hear and evaluate the charges made against Trotsky and his son at the infamous Moscow purges. At the time, Trotsky was living in exile in Mexico. When Dewey agreed to chair the Commission, Communists and sympathizers with Stalin's regime vilified him. Threats were made against his life, and both friends and family urged him not to go to Mexico. (You recall that Trotsky himself was subsequently assassinated.) Nevertheless, Dewey made the arduous trip to Mexico City where the inquiry was held. It was an opportunity to investigate the false charges brought against...