ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that John Dewey's philosophy needs to be given new consideration, both as a corrective to the misuse of his concept of publics and as an illuminating addition to new critical directions concerned with public relations and the public sphere. It provides an introduction to Dewey's philosophy, with an emphasis on his ideas about communication and democracy, communities and the public, public opinion and publicity, and organizations. Communication is the linchpin in Dewey's philosophy and the basis for his argument for inclusive participation in democracy. In Dewey's thinking, the critical relationship between the social and the political can be found in the connection between community and public, not between the private and public as typically understood. Dewey's Marxist critics in communication, including Dan Schiller and Hanno Hardt, attempted to discount his philosophy on grounds of pragmatism, progressivism, and liberalism.
