---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The method of democracy is to bring…"
description: "\"The method of democracy is to bring conflicts out into the open where their special claims can be seen and appraised, where they can be discussed and j..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png"
---

#  The method of democracy is to bring conflicts out into the…

![“The method of democracy is to bring conflicts out into the open where their special claims can be seen and appraised, where they can be discussed and judged.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png)

> “The method of democracy is to bring conflicts out into the open where their special claims can be seen and appraised, where they can be discussed and judged.”

[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 works by exposing conflicts openly for evaluation and judgment.

**In simple terms:** Open conflict leads to better decisions.

Key Takeaway

Promote transparency in decision‑making.

Themes

democracy conflict resolution public discourse

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

philosophical educational

When to use this quote

- town hall meetings
- policy debates
- organizational conflict resolution
- community forums

Key Concepts

dialogue critical thinking participation

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we ensure constructive dialogue?
- What mechanisms help assess claims fairly?

A Different Perspective

Open conflict can become unproductive without structure.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Conflicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflicts/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [“How we traverse the space between us when conflict arises has a profound effect on the health and longevity of our relationships.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/how-we-traverse-the-space-between-us-when-conflict-arises-has-a/)

[Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/)

> [Conflicts, even just ones, which in the end can come at the expense of the State of Israel, are things that we must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/conflicts-even-just-ones-which-in-the-end-can-come-at-the-expense-of/)

[Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/)

> [“We had no problems, no conflicts,” Mars500 Commander Sergei Ryazansky is saying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/we-had-no-problems-no-conflicts-mars500-commander-sergei-ryazansky-is/)

[Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/)

> [This is a time when the United States should be standing tall. There is no other leader in the world today. We shouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-huntsman-jr/this-is-a-time-when-the-united-states-should-be-standing-tall-there/)

[Jon Huntsman, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-huntsman-jr/)

> [Any historian worth their salt should be aware of wars, conflicts, catastrophes. They happen. This is part of the panorama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/any-historian-worth-their-salt-should-be-aware-of-wars-conflicts/)

[Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/)

> [The mind can be the harshest battleground. It can be the place where the greatest conflicts are carried out. Its where half of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-mind-can-be-the-harshest-battleground-it-can-be-the-place-where/)

[Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/)

> [Conflicts get to us all. The difference is how you overcome them and who you overcome them with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-wagner/conflicts-get-to-us-all-the-difference-is-how-you-overcome-them-and/)

[Jacob Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-wagner/)

> [“From now on, conflicts would likely be decided as a clash between one abomination and another, powers against powers. And the victor would devour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yu-godai/from-now-on-conflicts-would-likely-be-decided-as-a-clash-between-one/)

Yu Godai

> [Like other conflict-affected regions, Africa continues to see religious, ethnic, and politically motivated conflicts. Extremist violence is now entrenched in several parts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tedros-adhanom/like-other-conflict-affected-regions-africa-continues-to-see/)

[Tedros Adhanom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tedros-adhanom/)

> [“So if your Story doesn’t change your lead character irrevocably from beginning to end, no one will deeply care about it. It may entertain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-coyne/so-if-your-story-doesn-t-change-your-lead-character-irrevocably-from/)

[Shawn Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-coyne/)

> [“Be quick to resolve conflicts before they mature to become wars. The energetic crocodile was once a delicate egg!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/be-quick-to-resolve-conflicts-before-they-mature-to-become-wars-the/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [“What causes Conflict? Agnan (Delusionary knowledge, Knowledge other than the True Self).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/what-causes-conflict-agnan-delusionary-knowledge-knowledge-other-than/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [I've been to many countries and watched a number of conflicts or their residue, and I've served in the military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-peters/i-ve-been-to-many-countries-and-watched-a-number-of-conflicts-or/)

[Ralph Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-peters/)

> [We still seek to solve conflicts with 'judgement' instead of designing the way forwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/we-still-seek-to-solve-conflicts-with-judgement-instead-of-designing/)

[Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/)

> [That is because the conflict with al Qaeda is not governed by the Geneva Conventions, which applies only to international conflicts between states that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yoo/that-is-because-the-conflict-with-al-qaeda-is-not-governed-by-the/)

[John Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yoo/)

## 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 Claims quotes

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/)

[Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/)

> [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/)

[Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/)

> [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/)

[Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/)

> [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/)

[Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/)

> [In luggage claim at the Minneapolis airport, the guy came up to me and said, "Maybe you're wrong, maybe stories do matter." I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/in-luggage-claim-at-the-minneapolis-airport-the-guy-came-up-to-me-and/)

[Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/)

> [The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/the-rights-essential-to-happiness-we-claim-them-from-a-higher-source/)

[John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/)

> [Those who do not know what love is likens it to beauty Those who claim to know what love is likens it to ugliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tite-kubo/those-who-do-not-know-what-love-is-likens-it-to-beauty-those-who/)

[Tite Kubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tite-kubo/)

> [If ever my life can be of any use to you, come and claim it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/if-ever-my-life-can-be-of-any-use-to-you-come-and-claim-it/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [How can I set free anyone who doesn't have the guts to stand up alone and declare his own freedom? I think it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/how-can-i-set-free-anyone-who-doesn-t-have-the-guts-to-stand-up-alone/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

> [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/)

[Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/)

> [Life is so full of meaning and of purpose, so full of beauty - beneath its covering - that you will find that earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-giocondo/life-is-so-full-of-meaning-and-of-purpose-so-full-of-beauty-beneath/)

[Giovanni Giocondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-giocondo/)

Browse all 2,762 Claims quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The method of democracy is to bring conflicts out into the open where their special claims can be seen and appraised, where they can be discussed and judged.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Dewey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conflicts-out-into-the-open-where/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Claims"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conflicts-out-into-the-open-where/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/john-dewey-545_claims_the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conf_422933.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The method of democracy is to bring conflicts out into the open where their special claims can be seen and…” — 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 method of democracy is to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conflicts-out-into-the-open-where/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-method-of-democracy-is-to-bring-conflicts-out-into-the-open-where/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
