Philosopher John Dewey Sees Social Benefits of War
In the midst of World War I, John Dewey, arguably the most noted philosopher in American history, published an article contending that American participation in the war had many social benefits.
In particular, Dewey welcomed the idea that the military draft had placed “public need over private possession” (see below), and in general justified government regulation without regard for civil liberties consideration. The article, “The Social Possibilities of War,” was published in the progressive magazine, The Independent.
Dewey was savagely attacked by one of his former students, Randolph Bourne, who argued that the pro-war intellectuals had betrayed their intellectual integrity. Bourne, who died on December 22, 1918, left a lasting imprint on American political thinking, and his powerful essays were reprinted during World War II and the Vietnam War because of their relevance to the role of intellectuals in those conflicts.
Apart from the offensive civil liberties aspects, Dewey’s article is, in several respects, very prophetic about the trend toward greater industrialization, increased government regulation, and globalization.
After World War I, Dewey rethought his position on this and some other issues, and by the 1930s became an active civil libertarian.
Dewey: “Again, the war has added to the old lesson of public sanitary regulation the new lesson of social regulation for purposes of moral prophylaxis. The acceleration of the movement to control the liquor traffic is another aspect of the same fact. Finally, conscription has brought home to the countries which have in the past been the home of the individualistic tradition the supremacy of public need over private possession.”
Read Dewey’s article: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-social-possibilities-of-war-2/
Learn more about Randolph Bourne: Jeremy McCarter, Young Radicals in the War for American Ideals (2017)
Learn about Bourne at the Randolph Bourne Institute: http://randolphbourne.org/
Read about Dewey: David Fott, John Dewey: America’s Philosopher of Democracy (1998)