For Dewey, ‘an articulate public’ that had developed methods of intelligence, not narrowly defined but broadly with regard to the capacity for rigorous reflective inquiry, was the foundation of democratic community. He attacked absolute principles and imposition strategies because, while some good may be accomplished from them, they would not help to establish a genuine form of democracy in a constantly evolving society. Only rational criticism and experimentation, linked to concern for the creation of a humane and just society, could do so.