The Problematic Public

Lippmann, Dewey, and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century

By: Kristian Bjørkdahl (Editor)

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Paperback | 12 November 2025

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260 Pages

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22.8 x 15.2 x 1.8

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Almost one hundred years have passed since Walter Lippmann and John Dewey published their famous reflections on the "problems of the public," but their thoughts remain surprisingly relevant as resources for thinking through our current crisis-plagued predicament. This book takes stock of the reception history of Lippmann's and Dewey's ideas about publics, communication, and political decision-making and shows how their ideas can inspire a way forward. Lippmann and Dewey were only two of many twentieth-century thinkers trying to imagine how a modern industrial democracy might (or might not) come to pass, but despite that, the "Lippmann/Dewey debate" became a symbol of the two alleged options: an epistocracy, on the one hand, and grassroots participation, on the other. In this book, distinguished scholars from rhetoric, communication, sociology, and media and journalism studies reconsider this debate in order to assess its contemporary relevance for our time, which, in some respects, bears a striking resemblance to the 1920s. In this way, the book explains how and why Lippmann and Dewey are indispensable resources for anyone concerned with the future of democratic deliberation and decision-making. In addition to the editor, the contributors to this volume include Nathan Crick, Robert Danisch, Steve Fuller, William Keith, Bruno Latour, John Durham Peters, Patricia Roberts-Miller, Michael Schudson, Anna Shechtman, Slavko Splichal, Lisa S. Villadsen, and Scott Welsh.

Industry Reviews

"Intrinsic to the tradition of democratic politics is debate over the nature of democracy itself, and Bjorkdahl's volume is a worthy contribution to our perennial deliberations. Its chapters examine the influential democratic theories of two of the most prominent public intellectuals of the twentieth century-philosopher John Dewey and journalist Walter Lippmann-and show how their penetrating analyses can help us navigate the serious challenges facing democracy in the twenty-first century." -William M. Curtis, author of Defending Rorty: Pragmatism and Liberal Virtue

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