ABSTRACT
This closing chapter begins by summarising the overarching argument of the book. However, although the book has argued that Deweyan experimentalism can reasonably be expected to be an improvement upon the Rawlsian notion of ideal theory, the only ultimate test of its actual capacity to help us better resolve real problems remains experimental. This chapter thus shows that recent efforts made by political philosophers and political scientists wishing to have an impact on political practice share many of Deweyan experimentalism’s core commitments and contends that this should allay the potential worry that Dewey’s ideas are too general to meaningfully address the problems confronted by political actors involved in existing political institutions and social movements. To this end, this chapter presents stellar examples of practically engaged political philosophy, before detailing how the field of democratic innovation and, in particular, real instances of participatory budgeting demonstrate the viability of Dewey-inspired methodological experimentalism. Ultimately, the chapter argues that the growing field of civic studies shows that engaged scholarship, which can address the intersection of civically significant facts, strategies, and values, holds significant promise for political philosophers hoping to have an impact beyond the academy.
