Citizenship

« voluntary cooperation.

The health of a democracy depends not only on the structure of its institutions, but also on the qualities of its citizens: for example, their loyalties and how they view potentially competing forms of national, ethnic or religious identities; their ability to work with others who are different from themselves; their desire to participate in public life; their willingness to exercise self-restraint in their economic demands and in personal choices affecting their health and the environment. 2 The responsibilities of citizenship In ancient Athens, citizenship was viewed primarily in terms of duties.

Citizens were legally obliged to take their turn in public office and sacrificed part of their private life to do so.

In the modern world, however, citizenship is viewed more as a matter of rights than duties.

Citizens have the right to participate in politics, but also the right to place private commitments ahead of political involvement. An influential exposition of this conception of ‘citizenship -as- rights' is T.H.

Marshall's Citizenship and Social Class (1950).

Marshall divides citizenship rights into three categories: civil rights, which arose in England in the eighteenth century; political rights, which arose in the nineteenth century; and social rights - for example, to education, health care, unemployment insurance and old-age pension - which have become established in the twentieth century (see Rights §§4-5 ).

For Marshall, the culmination of the citizenship ideal is the social-democratic welfare state.

By guaranteeing civil, political and social rights to all, the welfare state ensures that every member of society is able to participate fully in the common life of society (see Social democracy ). This is often called ‘passive' citizenship, because of its emphasis on passive entitlements and the absence of any civic duties.

While it has helped secure a reasonable degree of security, prosperity and freedom for most members of Western societies, most theorists believe that the passive acceptance of rights must be supplemented with the active exercise of responsibilities and virtues.

Theorists disagree, however, about which virtues are most important and how best to promote them. Conservatives emphasize the virtue of self-reliance.

Whereas Marshall argued that social rights enable the disadvantaged to participate in the mainstream of society, conservatives argue that the welfare state has promoted passivity and dependence among the poor.

To promote active citizenship, we should reduce welfare entitlements and emphasize the responsibility to earn a living, which is the key to self-respect and social acceptance (see Conservatism ).

Critics respond that cutting welfare benefits further marginalizes the underclass.

Also, as feminists note, gender-neutral talk about ‘self -reliance' is often a code for the view that men should financially support the family while women look after the household and care for the elderly, sick, and young.

This reinforces the barriers to women's full participation in society (see Feminist political philosophy ). Civil society theorists focus on how we learn to be responsible citizens.

They argue that it is in the voluntary organizations of civil society - churches, families, unions, ethnic associations, environmental groups,. »