Relationship Between Dewey And Individualism

It is hard to define what liberalism truly meant. On the surface, to be liberal was to be progressive, forward thinking, actively championing for civil liberties as well as the freedom of the individual. Dewey himself is of the opinion that the idea of liberalism has been distorted; it has become far too individualistic and lost its meaning. Dewey is against the ‘individualism’ espoused by liberalists’ theories. Choosing instead to subscribe to organic philosophy where the intrinsic relationship between society and the individual is emphasized upon, Dewey is adamant that liberalism can be achieved with the aid of social institutions that help shape us, rather than the misguided ahistorical notions of liberalism that classical liberalists have …show more content…
The introduction of capitalism, where labour becomes a “source of right in property” was developed and therein creating a whole new “adverse bearing upon freedom of labour, investment and exchange.” Adam Smith, a major proponent of the Laissez-faire economy, argues that everyone has a natural tendency to better himself through “putting effort (labour) to satisfy his natural wants”. He argues that as one works to benefit himself in the Laissez-faire economy, others would inadvertently gain as well. Again, the individualistic nature in the Laissez-faire economy as well as the lack of government intervention is highlighted. The advent of Laissez-faire liberalism led to the degradation of natural laws that Locke had advocated, as capitalism became the norm in society, free from the rigid control imposed by the government which some individuals feel is an infringement upon their rights. Morality has thus been stripped away from these natural laws, and instead, these laws are now “identified with the laws of free industrial production and free commercial exchange”. Whilst philosophers like Bentham believes that economic liberalism would “itself tend in the direction of greater equalization”, Dewey instead veers away from this version of liberalism with its relentless championing of individualism as well as the laissez-faire economy favoured by capitalists. This could be attributed to the fact that in the pursuit of capital accumulation, massive disparity, instead of the foretold equality, has burgeoned rapidly as the trickling down of wealth that has been advocated did not come into fruition. Disproportionate economic power brought about by the Laissez-faire economy intertwined closely with disproportionate social power. This is