민주사회와 시민적 덕목

Abstract

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 modem world, however, citizenship is viewed 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. This is often criticized as 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 the members of political community, this study believes that the passive acceptance of rights must be supplemented with the active exercise of responsibilities and virtues. Meanwhile, republicans offer another approach to good citizenship. They hold a strong belief in the intrinsic value of political participation. Such participation is, in Adrian Oldfield's words, the highest form of human living together that most individuals can aspire to. On this view, political life is superior to the merely private pleasures of family, neighborhood and profession, and so should occupy the center of people' s lives. This study argues that such a view conflicts with an understanding of the good life in the modem world. Most people today find the greatest happiness in their family life, work, religion or leisure, not in politics. Political participation is seen as an occasional, often burdensome, activity necessary to ensure that government respects and supports people's freedom to pursue their personal projects and attachments. Nevertheless, it is true that democratic institutions will collapse if citizens lack certain virtues, such as civic-mindedness and mutual goodwill. Indeed, many democracies suffer from voter apathy, racial and religious intolerance, and significant non-compliance with taxation or environmental policies that rely voluntary cooperation. This study claims that 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 political commitments; their ability to work with others who are different from themselves.