Jeremy Waldron
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198297703
- eISBN:
- 9780191602948
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829770X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Two formulations of civic responsibility are advanced: participating in a way that does not improperly diminish the prospects for peace or the prospect that the inhabitants will come to terms and set ...
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Two formulations of civic responsibility are advanced: participating in a way that does not improperly diminish the prospects for peace or the prospect that the inhabitants will come to terms and set up the necessary framework; and participating in a way that pays proper attention to the interests, wishes and opinions of all inhabitants in the country. This chapter addresses the questions that arise when these formulations are filled out in the context of cultural identity in a multicultural society. Aspects covered include compossibility, compleasance (that people strive to accommodate themselves to others), and cultural engagement.Less
Two formulations of civic responsibility are advanced: participating in a way that does not improperly diminish the prospects for peace or the prospect that the inhabitants will come to terms and set up the necessary framework; and participating in a way that pays proper attention to the interests, wishes and opinions of all inhabitants in the country. This chapter addresses the questions that arise when these formulations are filled out in the context of cultural identity in a multicultural society. Aspects covered include compossibility, compleasance (that people strive to accommodate themselves to others), and cultural engagement.
Jeremy Waldron
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199253661
- eISBN:
- 9780191601972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253668.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Jeremy Waldron’s essay centres around Martha Nussbaum’s ideas on cosmopolitan education: Nussbaum argues that we should make ‘world citizenship, rather than democratic or national citizenship, the ...
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Jeremy Waldron’s essay centres around Martha Nussbaum’s ideas on cosmopolitan education: Nussbaum argues that we should make ‘world citizenship, rather than democratic or national citizenship, the focus for civic education’. The essay provides just a few examples to illustrate the concrete particularity of the world community for which we are urged by Nussbaum to take responsibility, with the aim of refuting the view of those who condemn cosmopolitanism as an abstraction. The arguments for and against Nussbaum’s idea (universalism vs particularism) are presented, and one of the opposing views highlighted: that cosmopolitan moral education is not just an education in moral ideas; it is (or ought to be) an education in the particular ways in which people have inhabited the world (rather than the purely local aspects of their inhabiting particular territories). The different sections of the chapter look at how a society becomes multicultural, the infrastructure of cultural interaction, the identification of citizenship (citizenship in relation to civic responsibility, exclusivity, subjection), the language of citizenship, and its concrete reality and its cosmopolitan dimensions.Less
Jeremy Waldron’s essay centres around Martha Nussbaum’s ideas on cosmopolitan education: Nussbaum argues that we should make ‘world citizenship, rather than democratic or national citizenship, the focus for civic education’. The essay provides just a few examples to illustrate the concrete particularity of the world community for which we are urged by Nussbaum to take responsibility, with the aim of refuting the view of those who condemn cosmopolitanism as an abstraction. The arguments for and against Nussbaum’s idea (universalism vs particularism) are presented, and one of the opposing views highlighted: that cosmopolitan moral education is not just an education in moral ideas; it is (or ought to be) an education in the particular ways in which people have inhabited the world (rather than the purely local aspects of their inhabiting particular territories). The different sections of the chapter look at how a society becomes multicultural, the infrastructure of cultural interaction, the identification of citizenship (citizenship in relation to civic responsibility, exclusivity, subjection), the language of citizenship, and its concrete reality and its cosmopolitan dimensions.
Alon Harel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199592814
- eISBN:
- 9780191729034
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592814.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
The central characteristic of responsibility as developed by Duff is the ‘triadic relational concept’ consisting of a relation between an agent A who is responsible for something X to somebody S and ...
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The central characteristic of responsibility as developed by Duff is the ‘triadic relational concept’ consisting of a relation between an agent A who is responsible for something X to somebody S and in virtue of being a member of a unit of responsibility, e.g., a neighbourhood or a state. This chapter rejects several justifications for Duff's theory of responsibility and justifies the triadic relational structure of responsibility in terms of self governance. Under this justification, individuals conduct their lives in different spheres. Each sphere is governed by a community that engages in an enterprise consisting of a thick set of norms and practices. It is important that it is primarily members of the community who ultimately determine the content of these norms and practices. By conforming to the dictates of the triadic relational structure one guards the rights of members (of the unit of responsibility) to govern themselves.Less
The central characteristic of responsibility as developed by Duff is the ‘triadic relational concept’ consisting of a relation between an agent A who is responsible for something X to somebody S and in virtue of being a member of a unit of responsibility, e.g., a neighbourhood or a state. This chapter rejects several justifications for Duff's theory of responsibility and justifies the triadic relational structure of responsibility in terms of self governance. Under this justification, individuals conduct their lives in different spheres. Each sphere is governed by a community that engages in an enterprise consisting of a thick set of norms and practices. It is important that it is primarily members of the community who ultimately determine the content of these norms and practices. By conforming to the dictates of the triadic relational structure one guards the rights of members (of the unit of responsibility) to govern themselves.
Terence Ball
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198279952
- eISBN:
- 9780191598753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198279957.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter compares and contrasts the schemes for a civil religion advanced by Auguste Comte and James Mill, which contrasts the former's illiberal and priestly views with the latter's liberal and ...
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This chapter compares and contrasts the schemes for a civil religion advanced by Auguste Comte and James Mill, which contrasts the former's illiberal and priestly views with the latter's liberal and low‐church conception of the role of religion in a modern and largely secular society. The purpose of Mill's civil religion is pedagogical: it seeks to impart civically useful knowledge and to instil a sense of civic responsibility and restraint. This stands in stark contrast to Comte's civil religion, which seeks to stifle criticism, manipulate the emotions, and procure assent to an authoritarian and undemocratic system of priestly rule.Less
This chapter compares and contrasts the schemes for a civil religion advanced by Auguste Comte and James Mill, which contrasts the former's illiberal and priestly views with the latter's liberal and low‐church conception of the role of religion in a modern and largely secular society. The purpose of Mill's civil religion is pedagogical: it seeks to impart civically useful knowledge and to instil a sense of civic responsibility and restraint. This stands in stark contrast to Comte's civil religion, which seeks to stifle criticism, manipulate the emotions, and procure assent to an authoritarian and undemocratic system of priestly rule.
Abigail A. Kohn
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195150513
- eISBN:
- 9780199944095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195150513.003.0014
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines the history of gun ownership and gun control in the U.S. It explains that in colonial America and during the early republican period, citizens were required by the colonial ...
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This chapter examines the history of gun ownership and gun control in the U.S. It explains that in colonial America and during the early republican period, citizens were required by the colonial governments to arm themselves and form citizen militias. The arming of citizens in turn gave birth to a new and strongly held vision of civic responsibility and the colonial governments recognized that guns in the wrong hands could present dangers to the larger imperialist project. Thus, the government started to regulate existing gun ownership and use. The colonial governments also used laws relating to guns to help structure and maintain and patriarchal social structures.Less
This chapter examines the history of gun ownership and gun control in the U.S. It explains that in colonial America and during the early republican period, citizens were required by the colonial governments to arm themselves and form citizen militias. The arming of citizens in turn gave birth to a new and strongly held vision of civic responsibility and the colonial governments recognized that guns in the wrong hands could present dangers to the larger imperialist project. Thus, the government started to regulate existing gun ownership and use. The colonial governments also used laws relating to guns to help structure and maintain and patriarchal social structures.
Albert W. Dzur
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199874095
- eISBN:
- 9780199980024
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199874095.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
As in the previous chapter, this chapter seeks to uproot entrenched intellectual obstacles to participatory democracy, this time within political theory. Lay citizens without the guidance of experts ...
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As in the previous chapter, this chapter seeks to uproot entrenched intellectual obstacles to participatory democracy, this time within political theory. Lay citizens without the guidance of experts are commonly viewed as handicapped by lack of knowledge, experience, and by being too numerous; even democratic theorists like Rousseau are modest about citizens’ ability to govern themselves without strict institutional constraints. Mainstream political science, exemplified by Hibbing and Theiss-Morse, provides apparent empirical support for more rather than less expert and representative government by showing lay citizens as uninterested in greater participation or civic responsibility. Progressive intellectuals Wolin and Morone have also argued that once integrated into formal governmental institutions, popular participation becomes co-opted and counterproductive. To overcome these challenges, this chapter introduces the concept of rational disorganization, the idea that power-sharing collaboration between laypeople and officials on complex tasks, such as reaching a verdict, draws on public practical reason, allows for reflexivity about rules and procedures, and permits greater attention to individual cases. Rational disorganization explains how participatory democratic institutions like the jury empower and give responsibility to citizens without overburdening or bureaucratizing them.Less
As in the previous chapter, this chapter seeks to uproot entrenched intellectual obstacles to participatory democracy, this time within political theory. Lay citizens without the guidance of experts are commonly viewed as handicapped by lack of knowledge, experience, and by being too numerous; even democratic theorists like Rousseau are modest about citizens’ ability to govern themselves without strict institutional constraints. Mainstream political science, exemplified by Hibbing and Theiss-Morse, provides apparent empirical support for more rather than less expert and representative government by showing lay citizens as uninterested in greater participation or civic responsibility. Progressive intellectuals Wolin and Morone have also argued that once integrated into formal governmental institutions, popular participation becomes co-opted and counterproductive. To overcome these challenges, this chapter introduces the concept of rational disorganization, the idea that power-sharing collaboration between laypeople and officials on complex tasks, such as reaching a verdict, draws on public practical reason, allows for reflexivity about rules and procedures, and permits greater attention to individual cases. Rational disorganization explains how participatory democratic institutions like the jury empower and give responsibility to citizens without overburdening or bureaucratizing them.
Robert Wuthnow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157207
- eISBN:
- 9781400846498
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157207.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
This chapter examines the role of formal and informal leaders, including local public officials and heads of voluntary organizations, in small communities' efforts to adapt to changing social and ...
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This chapter examines the role of formal and informal leaders, including local public officials and heads of voluntary organizations, in small communities' efforts to adapt to changing social and economic conditions. It considers how residents confer respect on leaders and how leaders draw on this respect in performing their roles. Leaders discuss why they take on civic responsibilities, the gratifications and frustrations involved, and how these activities serve as stepping-stones for public office in larger venues. Although it is sometimes suggested that small towns lack interesting cultural amenities, local cultural leadership is particularly important, and figures prominently in communities' understanding of their distinctive history and identity. The chapter also shows that small towns are laboratories for social innovation, judging from leaders' descriptions of new technology, electronic communications, sustainable energy projects, and efforts to rebuild following natural disasters.Less
This chapter examines the role of formal and informal leaders, including local public officials and heads of voluntary organizations, in small communities' efforts to adapt to changing social and economic conditions. It considers how residents confer respect on leaders and how leaders draw on this respect in performing their roles. Leaders discuss why they take on civic responsibilities, the gratifications and frustrations involved, and how these activities serve as stepping-stones for public office in larger venues. Although it is sometimes suggested that small towns lack interesting cultural amenities, local cultural leadership is particularly important, and figures prominently in communities' understanding of their distinctive history and identity. The chapter also shows that small towns are laboratories for social innovation, judging from leaders' descriptions of new technology, electronic communications, sustainable energy projects, and efforts to rebuild following natural disasters.
Elizabeth Hayes Turner
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195086881
- eISBN:
- 9780199854578
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195086881.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter focuses on the women's benevolent institutions. They were in place in 1880 dispensing aid on a regular basis. By ministering the poor, benevolent ladies understood the degree of ...
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This chapter focuses on the women's benevolent institutions. They were in place in 1880 dispensing aid on a regular basis. By ministering the poor, benevolent ladies understood the degree of dependency that was created through increased industrialization and growth. Catholic women's religious orders were the first to build benevolent institutions in Galveston. Ursuline nuns accompanied Bishop John Mary Odin to Galveston and formed the Ursuline Academy and convent. They acted as nurses. They converted their convent to a military hospital during the Civil War. Galveston's middle- and upper-class women sought to capitalize on the wave of pride and donation to build institutions of their own — for children and old women. Lasker Home for Homeless Children and the Johanna Runge Free Kindergarten pulled women toward a greater sense of civic and community responsibility. These institutions were temporary shelters for children whose family was unable to offer an education.Less
This chapter focuses on the women's benevolent institutions. They were in place in 1880 dispensing aid on a regular basis. By ministering the poor, benevolent ladies understood the degree of dependency that was created through increased industrialization and growth. Catholic women's religious orders were the first to build benevolent institutions in Galveston. Ursuline nuns accompanied Bishop John Mary Odin to Galveston and formed the Ursuline Academy and convent. They acted as nurses. They converted their convent to a military hospital during the Civil War. Galveston's middle- and upper-class women sought to capitalize on the wave of pride and donation to build institutions of their own — for children and old women. Lasker Home for Homeless Children and the Johanna Runge Free Kindergarten pulled women toward a greater sense of civic and community responsibility. These institutions were temporary shelters for children whose family was unable to offer an education.
Archon Fung
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190904951
- eISBN:
- 9780190904982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190904951.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
Though we all depend upon democracy, each of us in our public and civic roles is motivated to act in ways that deplete its sustaining conditions. In this chapter, Archon Fung proposes that one part ...
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Though we all depend upon democracy, each of us in our public and civic roles is motivated to act in ways that deplete its sustaining conditions. In this chapter, Archon Fung proposes that one part of the solution to this problem is a thicker professional and civic ethics. The argument has three components. The first is a basic account of democratic governance that advances procedural and output legitimacy. In order to produce legitimacy, however, democracy has five sociopolitical “underwriting” conditions: commitment to process over outcome, social coherence, a spirit of compromise, responsive government, and epistemic integrity. Finally, different kinds of actors—politicians, media professionals, and citizens—have powerful self-interested motives to pollute “the commons” of democracy. Each of these role-specific discussions develops a set of ethical commitments that actors should adopt to sustain democracy instead of undermining it.Less
Though we all depend upon democracy, each of us in our public and civic roles is motivated to act in ways that deplete its sustaining conditions. In this chapter, Archon Fung proposes that one part of the solution to this problem is a thicker professional and civic ethics. The argument has three components. The first is a basic account of democratic governance that advances procedural and output legitimacy. In order to produce legitimacy, however, democracy has five sociopolitical “underwriting” conditions: commitment to process over outcome, social coherence, a spirit of compromise, responsive government, and epistemic integrity. Finally, different kinds of actors—politicians, media professionals, and citizens—have powerful self-interested motives to pollute “the commons” of democracy. Each of these role-specific discussions develops a set of ethical commitments that actors should adopt to sustain democracy instead of undermining it.
Julian Tudor Hart
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847427830
- eISBN:
- 9781447303930
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847427830.003.0004
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Since the early nineteenth century, medical specialisation has been driven by two forces: by science, through analysis of physiological and pathological processes, with consequent division and ...
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Since the early nineteenth century, medical specialisation has been driven by two forces: by science, through analysis of physiological and pathological processes, with consequent division and subdivision of these into apparently separate parts; and by a more general culture which tends to compartmentalise civic responsibility, leaving major societal decisions to the operation of the market. The main reason why from 1948 to 1979 the NHS was more cost-effective than any other socially inclusive health care system was its retention of community generalists as gatekeepers to specialist care, and as familiar and trusted guardians and interpreters of patients' life stories. In the presently dominant culture of NHS management in England, developed from business experience and following an industrial model, this is not recognised. This leads to demoralisation of staff and confusion of patients.Less
Since the early nineteenth century, medical specialisation has been driven by two forces: by science, through analysis of physiological and pathological processes, with consequent division and subdivision of these into apparently separate parts; and by a more general culture which tends to compartmentalise civic responsibility, leaving major societal decisions to the operation of the market. The main reason why from 1948 to 1979 the NHS was more cost-effective than any other socially inclusive health care system was its retention of community generalists as gatekeepers to specialist care, and as familiar and trusted guardians and interpreters of patients' life stories. In the presently dominant culture of NHS management in England, developed from business experience and following an industrial model, this is not recognised. This leads to demoralisation of staff and confusion of patients.
Alon Harel
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781479842933
- eISBN:
- 9781479857609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479842933.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Under the traditional view, the decision to privatize hinges exclusively on the question of who is most likely to make the just or correct decision: a public official or a private entity. This ...
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Under the traditional view, the decision to privatize hinges exclusively on the question of who is most likely to make the just or correct decision: a public official or a private entity. This chapter challenges the traditional approach and argues that massive privatization as such has costs as it severs the link between decision-making processes and citizens, eroding the prospect of meaningful political engagement and civic shared responsibility.Less
Under the traditional view, the decision to privatize hinges exclusively on the question of who is most likely to make the just or correct decision: a public official or a private entity. This chapter challenges the traditional approach and argues that massive privatization as such has costs as it severs the link between decision-making processes and citizens, eroding the prospect of meaningful political engagement and civic shared responsibility.
Charles Townshend
- Published in print:
- 1984
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198200840
- eISBN:
- 9780191674785
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198200840.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter examines the role of the civil wars and irregularism in the political violence in Ireland during the early 1900s. It suggests that the Irish had become indifferent and hostile to ...
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This chapter examines the role of the civil wars and irregularism in the political violence in Ireland during the early 1900s. It suggests that the Irish had become indifferent and hostile to government during centuries of British rule so that when political independence came the definition of patriotism had to be changed. After Ireland's independence it took time for the Irish people to develop a sense of civic responsibility. The main challenge faced by the provisional government of Ireland after 1921 was to hold good against the claims of extremist groups using violent methods.Less
This chapter examines the role of the civil wars and irregularism in the political violence in Ireland during the early 1900s. It suggests that the Irish had become indifferent and hostile to government during centuries of British rule so that when political independence came the definition of patriotism had to be changed. After Ireland's independence it took time for the Irish people to develop a sense of civic responsibility. The main challenge faced by the provisional government of Ireland after 1921 was to hold good against the claims of extremist groups using violent methods.
Albert W. Dzur
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190658663
- eISBN:
- 9780190919214
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190658663.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics, Political Theory
Institutions shape how citizens think about the social problems they handle, repelling public awareness and involvement by performing tasks in ways that neutralize the citizen’s role. Democratic ...
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Institutions shape how citizens think about the social problems they handle, repelling public awareness and involvement by performing tasks in ways that neutralize the citizen’s role. Democratic professionals seek to change this dynamic by building access points and infusing citizen agency at critical junctures throughout major public institutions. The kind of citizen–professional collaborations democratic professionals aim to foster directly address the kinds of counter-democratic tendencies that reinforce callousness and make social problems difficult to handle. The motivations of democratic professionals can be understood through the theory of participatory democracy, which draws attention to the hazards representative governments create by thinking and acting for citizens. Participatory democrats acknowledge the difficulties of fostering civic agency in modernity and attempt to theorize how citizens can occupy a more active role in contemporary political culture and take up a civic responsibility for the public goods and social harms produced by their institutions.Less
Institutions shape how citizens think about the social problems they handle, repelling public awareness and involvement by performing tasks in ways that neutralize the citizen’s role. Democratic professionals seek to change this dynamic by building access points and infusing citizen agency at critical junctures throughout major public institutions. The kind of citizen–professional collaborations democratic professionals aim to foster directly address the kinds of counter-democratic tendencies that reinforce callousness and make social problems difficult to handle. The motivations of democratic professionals can be understood through the theory of participatory democracy, which draws attention to the hazards representative governments create by thinking and acting for citizens. Participatory democrats acknowledge the difficulties of fostering civic agency in modernity and attempt to theorize how citizens can occupy a more active role in contemporary political culture and take up a civic responsibility for the public goods and social harms produced by their institutions.
Francis J. Bremer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300179132
- eISBN:
- 9780300188851
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300179132.003.0014
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter explains how John Davenport and his fellow leaders expected the heads of New Haven's households to teach civic responsibility and to regulate the behavior of those under their care. ...
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This chapter explains how John Davenport and his fellow leaders expected the heads of New Haven's households to teach civic responsibility and to regulate the behavior of those under their care. Davenport's vision for New Haven included a well-educated citizenry. As a member of the Hartlib Circle, he had engaged in discussions on the connection of educational reform as part of the overall effort to reform society. Davenport's interest in education did not end with the creation of the town grammar school. The economic struggles of New Haven thwarted his efforts to establish a Comenian-style university in the region. Davenport had been impressed with the Moravian's educational program when he first encountered the ideas in England, and had hoped to establish such a college in New Haven from the early days of the colony.Less
This chapter explains how John Davenport and his fellow leaders expected the heads of New Haven's households to teach civic responsibility and to regulate the behavior of those under their care. Davenport's vision for New Haven included a well-educated citizenry. As a member of the Hartlib Circle, he had engaged in discussions on the connection of educational reform as part of the overall effort to reform society. Davenport's interest in education did not end with the creation of the town grammar school. The economic struggles of New Haven thwarted his efforts to establish a Comenian-style university in the region. Davenport had been impressed with the Moravian's educational program when he first encountered the ideas in England, and had hoped to establish such a college in New Haven from the early days of the colony.
