--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have advanced far enough to say that…" description: "\"We have advanced far enough to say that democracy is a way of life. We have yet to realize that it is a way of personal life and one which provides a m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/john-dewey-545_democracy_we-have-advanced-far-enough-to-say-that_1641419.png" --- # We have advanced far enough to say that democracy is a way… ![“We have advanced far enough to say that democracy is a way of life. We have yet to realize that it is a way of personal life and one which provides a moral standard for personal conduct.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/john-dewey-545_democracy_we-have-advanced-far-enough-to-say-that_1641419.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/john-dewey-545_democracy_we-have-advanced-far-enough-to-say-that_1641419.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/860/john-dewey-545_democracy_we-have-advanced-far-enough-to-say-that_1641419.png) > “We have advanced far enough to say that democracy is a way of life. We have yet to realize that it is a way of personal life and one which provides a moral standard for personal conduct.” [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 should be lived personally, shaping moral standards, not just a societal system. **In simple terms:** Democracy is a personal way of life and moral guide. Key Takeaway Integrate democratic values into daily conduct. Themes philosophy ethics politics education Mood philosophical inspirational Type reflective educational When to use this quote - Family decisions - workplace interactions - community involvement - personal decision making Key Concepts Moral development personal agency Questions to Reflect On - How does democracy influence your personal choices? - Can moral standards be taught through democratic practice? A Different Perspective Personal adoption of democracy can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Personal life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-life/) [Way of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [Democracy is a way of life controlled by a working faith in the possibilities of human nature. . . . This faith may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/democracy-is-a-way-of-life-controlled-by-a-working-faith-in-the/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“Science lacks something very important that religion provides: a moral code. Survival of the fittest is a scientific fact, but it is a cruel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-riddle/science-lacks-something-very-important-that-religion-provides-a-moral/) [A.G. Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [“Rather than offering a strict moral code to live by, popular culture today provides more of a moral posture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-d-fitzgerald/rather-than-offering-a-strict-moral-code-to-live-by-popular-culture/) Jonathan D. Fitzgerald > [Religion can be a good thing, but basically the way I look at it is that it provides a moral code, common sense. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/religion-can-be-a-good-thing-but-basically-the-way-i-look-at-it-is/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) > [Organized religion may be anathema on the political Left, but the need for the things religion provides - moral fervor, meaning, a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bari-weiss/organized-religion-may-be-anathema-on-the-political-left-but-the-need/) [Bari Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bari-weiss/) > [Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is of more importance than the highest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-of-more/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) > [While I am happy to make the occasional foray into educational philosophy - writing, for example, of the difficulty in the contemporary context for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/while-i-am-happy-to-make-the-occasional-foray-into-educational/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [There can be no freedom in the large sense of the word, no harmonious development, so long as mercenary and commercial considerations play an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/there-can-be-no-freedom-in-the-large-sense-of-the-word-no-harmonious/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Is there really any relationship between artists' personal conduct and their art? Certainly not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-kaplan/is-there-really-any-relationship-between-artists-personal-conduct-and/) [Fred Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-kaplan/) > [Character is better than ancestry, and personal conduct is more important than the highest parentage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-john-barnardo/character-is-better-than-ancestry-and-personal-conduct-is-more/) [Thomas John Barnardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-john-barnardo/) > [“There are many who consider as an injury to themselves any conduct which they have a distaste for, and resent it as an outrage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-are-many-who-consider-as-an-injury-to-themselves-any-conduct/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [You do not have to be convicted or even charged of a crime to be able to demonstrate that you've violated a personal conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-goodell/you-do-not-have-to-be-convicted-or-even-charged-of-a-crime-to-be-able/) [Roger Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-goodell/) > [“When a prince’s personal conduct is correct,” Confucius said, “his government is effective without the issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/when-a-prince-s-personal-conduct-is-correct-confucius-said-his/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [The biggest lie of all is that capitalism is democracy. We have no way of understanding democracy outside of the market, just as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-biggest-lie-of-all-is-that-capitalism-is-democracy-we-have-no-way/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [“I have never been able to understand where people got the idea that democracy was in some way opposed to tradition. It is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-where-people-got-the-idea-that/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## 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 Democracy quotes > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [There is plenty of time for Republicans to have a Macaca moment. But right now, as of October 17, 2014, the Republican Senate candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-continetti/there-is-plenty-of-time-for-republicans-to-have-a-macaca-moment-but/) [Matthew Continetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-continetti/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ Vote for Donald Trump. You're going to see something and you'll be so happy, you'll be so thrilled. This \[presidential\] election is about every… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/vote-for-donald-trump-you-re-going-to-see-something-and-you-ll-be-so/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/) [Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/) > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 11,220 Democracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have advanced far enough to say that democracy is a way of life. 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