ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Mead's political beliefs, public engagements, and theory of progressive reform as representative of the concerted effort to revamp American democracy at the critical juncture of American history. It begins with the sociohistorical context of the Progressive movement. After tracing Mead's path to Progressivism, the chapter analyzes his theory of the reform process. It explores the relationships between his political beliefs and substantive ideas. The chapter discusses the contribution of the pragmatist intellectuals aligned with the Progressive movement to the theory and practice of American democracy. The organization and unification of a social group is identical with the organization and unification of any one of the selves arising within the social process. The very term "social reconstruction" adopted by progressives was indicative of their values. The amorphous notion of public good is source of difficulty and confusion in progressive theory.
