Experts In Public Life: ¿Independent Elite Groups Or Socialized Inquiry? A Contribution Of Lippmann-Dewey’s Debate In The Contemporary Context

Abstract

The aim of this writing is to analyze the epistemological background, mainly concerning the conception of science that underlies in the debate concerning public opinion between Walter Lippmann and John Dewey. Then, I will qualify the debate and show the advantages involved in Dewey’s proposal. Finally, I will also point out the disadvantages of such a conception and suggest, as a result, a new point of view for the contemporaneous discussion concerning deliberative democracy.