--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The devotion of democracy to education is…" description: "\"The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. The superficial explanation is that a government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be suc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg" --- # The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact… ![“The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. The superficial explanation is that a government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those who elect and who obey their governors are educated. Since a democratic society repudiates the principle of external…” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg) > “The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. The superficial explanation is that a government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those who elect and who obey their governors are educated. Since a democratic society repudiates the principle of external authority, it must find a substitute in voluntary disposition and interest; these can be created only by education.” [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Democracy relies on educated citizens; education creates voluntary participation and shared values. **In simple terms:** Education fuels democratic participation. Key Takeaway Invest in education for a healthy democracy. Themes democracy education citizenry Mood thoughtful serious hopeful Type philosophical political educational When to use this quote - school curricula - public policy - community organizing - voter education Key Concepts social contract public good civic responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can education be made truly inclusive? - What other factors support democratic health? A Different Perspective Education alone cannot fix systemic inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Being successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democratic society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-society/) [Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Governors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governors/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Suffrage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffrage/) ## Related quotes > [ The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. . . . \[A\] government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-is-a-familiar-fact-a/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Popular suffrage is in itself no guarantee of freedom. People can vote themselves into slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-chodorov/popular-suffrage-is-in-itself-no-guarantee-of-freedom-people-can-vote/) [Frank Chodorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-chodorov/) > [“The lesson for progressive education is that it requires in an urgent degree, a degree more pressing than was incumbent upon former innovators, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-lesson-for-progressive-education-is-that-it-requires-in-an-urgent/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/one-of-the-great-tragedies-of-life-is-that-men-seldom-bridge-the-gulf-2/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism. We proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-talk-eloquently-about-our-commitment-to-the-principles-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The ultimate victory of tomorrow is democracy, and through democracy with education, for no people in all the world can be kept eternally ignorant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-ultimate-victory-of-tomorrow-is-democracy-and-through-democracy/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/democracy-cannot-succeed-unless-those-who-express-their-choice-are/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express theirchoice are prepared to choosewisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt-1882-1945/democracy-cannot-succeed-unless-those-who-express-theirchoice-are/) Franklin D Roosevelt (1882â1945 > [The real safeguard of democracy is education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-real-safeguard-of-democracy-is-education/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [We Americans have the great gifts of freedom and democracy, but it has been our education system that has fulfilled the promise of democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-rogers/we-americans-have-the-great-gifts-of-freedom-and-democracy-but-it-has/) [James E. Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-rogers/) > [“It is particularly important to note that, in a democracy, education has never been concerned only with supplying the needs of the economy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-weiner/it-is-particularly-important-to-note-that-in-a-democracy-education/) Gaby Weiner > [Since a democratic society repudiates the principle of external authority, it must find a substitute in voluntary disposition and interest; these can be created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-a-democratic-society-repudiates-the-principle-of-external/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A society which makes provision for participation in its good of all its members on equal terms and which secures flexible readjustment of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-society-which-makes-provision-for-participation-in-its-good-of-all/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The aim of education is to enable individuals to continue their education ... (and) the object and reward of learning is continued capacity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-aim-of-education-is-to-enable-individuals-to-continue-their-2/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The problem of education in a democratic society is to do away with ... dualism and to construct a course of studies which makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-problem-of-education-in-a-democratic-society-is-to-do-away-with/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## More by John Dewey > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Empirically, things are poignant, tragic, beautiful, humorous, settled, disturbed, comfortable, annoying, barren, harsh, consoling, splendid, fearful; are such immediately and in their own right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/empirically-things-are-poignant-tragic-beautiful-humorous-settled/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [A tribe, let us say, is warlike. The successes for which it strives, the achievements upon which it sets store, are connected with fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-tribe-let-us-say-is-warlike-the-successes-for-which-it-strives-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The phrase "think for one's self" is a pleonasm. Unless one does it for one's self, it isn't thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-phrase-think-for-one-s-self-is-a-pleonasm-unless-one-does-it-for/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Doctrine that eliminates or even obscures the function of choice of values and enlistment of desires and emotions in behalf of those chosen weakens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/doctrine-that-eliminates-or-even-obscures-the-function-of-choice-of/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [There is no such thing as educational value in the abstract. The notion that some subjects and methods and that acquaintance with certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-educational-value-in-the-abstract-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Men live in a community in virtue of the things which they have in common; and communication is the way in which they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/men-live-in-a-community-in-virtue-of-the-things-which-they-have-in/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/we-can-have-facts-without-thinking-but-we-cannot-have-thinking/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [But progress in knowledge has made us aware of the superficiality of Plato's lumping of individuals and their original powers into a few sharply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/but-progress-in-knowledge-has-made-us-aware-of-the-superficiality-of/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Even the alleged benefits of war, so far as more than alleged, spring from the fact that conflict of peoples at least enforces intercourse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/even-the-alleged-benefits-of-war-so-far-as-more-than-alleged-spring/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“When the organization called soul is free, moving and operative, initial as well as terminal, it is spirit. Qualities are both static, substantial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-the-organization-called-soul-is-free-moving-and-operative/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Since in reality there is nothing to which growth is relative save more growth, there is nothing to which education is subordinate save more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/since-in-reality-there-is-nothing-to-which-growth-is-relative-save/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [Creative thinking will improve as we relate the new fact to the old and all facts to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/creative-thinking-will-improve-as-we-relate-the-new-fact-to-the-old/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) [Explore all 486 John Dewey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [I think people need to be comfortable questioning the authority of a doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/i-think-people-need-to-be-comfortable-questioning-the-authority-of-a/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [“I'm of the age and immaturity level that I cannot give you my respect solely because you are older or ranked higher on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/i-m-of-the-age-and-immaturity-level-that-i-cannot-give-you-my-respect/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. If you would be free, then, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/we-are-at-the-mercy-of-whoever-wields-authority-over-the-things-we/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Sometimes it's easier for people who are in authority to be authoritarian, because people know where you stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/sometimes-it-s-easier-for-people-who-are-in-authority-to-be/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [The victory of Hamas is not only based on the corruption of the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has a vision and a program, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ismail-haniyeh/the-victory-of-hamas-is-not-only-based-on-the-corruption-of-the/) [Ismail Haniyeh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ismail-haniyeh/) [Browse all 4,003 Authority quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. The superficial explanation is that a government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those who elect and who obey their governors are educated. Since a democratic society repudiates the principle of external authority, it must find a substitute in voluntary disposition and interest; these can be created only by education.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Dewey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-is-a-familiar-fact-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Authority" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-is-a-familiar-fact-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0e/john-dewey-545_authority_the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-i_3021171.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The devotion of democracy to education is a familiar fact. The superficial explanation is that a government…” — John Dewey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Dewey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The devotion of democracy to education...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-is-a-familiar-fact-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-devotion-of-democracy-to-education-is-a-familiar-fact-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```