ABSTRACT
Addams’ theory of critical pragmatism was based on democracy to ensure social equality, and education as the mechanism to protect that right. She drew freely on the central concepts of symbolic interactionism, especially as they were articulated by Mead, Dewey, and Thomas. Social interaction based on equal participation for all, however, was stunted and blocked in American cities. As a result of capitalism, immigration, and changes in the home affecting primarily women, children, and the aged, communication and interaction were failing to work for the whole community. To resolve these problems, democracy and education needed to be used as tools to improve social institutions, community control, and the vitality of everyday life. In this way, Addams connected the social psychology of symbolic interactionism with the structural problems of city life. The male American pragmatists also shared her view of the social order, but Addams was more radical in her interpretation.
