Principled Legal Pragmatism: Reconciling Posner and Dewey on Law and Democracy

Authors

Kory Spencer Sorrell, Bilkent University

First Page

245

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The pressing practical question is how to cultivate democratic reconstruction? And here again, Posner's insights are both helpful and continuous with the pragmatism of James and Dewey. Both James and Dewey sought reform not primarily through deliberation, but through institutional reform. As Posner insists, "[w]e must accept the irreducible plurality of goals and preferences within a morally heterogeneous society such as that of the United States, and proceed from there." And proceeding from there-successfully, not just aspirationally-means discarding idealistic notions of democracy in favor of institutional and social arrangements that support a morally diverse community, the members of which are free (and empowered) to pursue their various forms of preferred living. James and Dewey were perhaps more sanguine about the potential of such reform than is Posner, and here perhaps James and Dewey provide a needed correction to Posner's excessive pessimism.

Recommended Citation

Kory S. Sorrell, Principled Legal Pragmatism: Reconciling Posner and Dewey on Law and Democracy, 23 St. Thomas L. Rev. 245 (2011).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol23/iss2/4