In 1900 John Dewey delivered the presidential address to the American Psychological Association (APA) urging his colleagues to adopt scientific methods as the foundation for their work. Psychology, he offered, would “afford [them] insight into the conditions which control the formation and execution of aims, and thus enable human effort to expend itself sanely, rationally, and with assurance.” His address proved an apt greeting to the new century, for it portended the acceptance of social scientific knowledge as the foundation for social reform. But Dewey also alluded to the limitations of the social science professions and the role of experts in the years ahead, warning that “psychology will never tell us just what to do ethically, nor just how to do it.” The question, then, of who would determine the ethical uses of social scientific knowledge and its formulation into public policy in a democratic and bureaucratic society plagued Dewey as the century unfolded. This essay explores Dewey's concerns about the potential threat to democratic community posed by dependence upon experts as policymakers.