Except for Dewey's and James H. Tufts' 1932 Ethics (Volume 7 of The Later Works), this volume brings together Dewey's writings for 1931-1932.

The Great Depression presented John Dewey and the American people with a series of economic, political, and social crises in 1931 and 1932 that are reflected in most of the 86 items in this volume, even in philosophical essays such as "Human Nature." As Sidney Ratner points out in his Introduction, Dewey's interest in international peace is fea tured in the writings in this volume.