Citizenship,
Society, and the
State
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“Citizenship is the right to full partnership in the
fortunes and in the future of the nation” – Paul
Martin Sr.
“There can be no daily democracy without daily
citizenship” – Ralph Nader
“Citizenship is what makes a republic, monarchies
can get along without it” - Mark Twain
“Every citizen of the republic ought to consider
himself an unofficial policeman, and keep
unsalaried watch and ward over the laws and their
execution” – Mark Twain
The classical ideal
 A citizen is one who both rules and is ruled
 Membership in a political community
 The state is inseparable from the citizen
 Rights and duties
 Exclusion
The liberal political tradition
 Citizens have equal rights and their relationship
with the state is based on contract and consensus
 Locke: Social Contract
 State-society relations
Rights
 “A right is the ability to require the performance of
a specific duty” – Don Carmichael
 T.H. Marshall, Cambridge lectures of 1949*:
 Three elements of citizenship:
Civil
 Political
 Social
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*T.H. Marshall, Citizenship and Social Class, and other essays.
Cambridge University Press, 1950
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The civil element, established in the 18th-19th
centuries:
Liberty of the person
 Freedom of speech, thought and faith
 Right to own property
 Right to defend and assert one’s rights on equal
terms with others through due process of law
 Main institutions – the courts
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The political element, established in the 19th-20th
centuries:
Right to participate in the exercise of political power
– to be elected to office or to elect others
 Main institutions – elected bodies of government
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The social element
The right to a modicum of economic welfare and
security
 Right to share in full in the social heritage
 Right to live the life of a civilized being according to
standards prevailing in society
 Institutions: educational system and social services
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Writing in the middle of the 20th century, Marshall saw 3
long-term trends, driven by the struggles for rights:
Reduction of the scale of social inequality
Great extension of the area of common culture and
common experience
The enrichment of the universal status of citizenship
In sum: “the drive toward social equality”
By the end of the century, those trends were reversed
Civil Society
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Civil society in a descriptive sense – a concept
Civil society in a prescriptive sense – a theory, a
model
What is it?
Can it serve as a model for political and social
change?
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Civil society is
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a space, an arena, a sphere
In which citizens
associate with each other
 independently of the state,
 creating a network of links and organizations
 to promote their collective identities
 and serve and represent their group interests
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Marx: “Society minus the state”
Canadian associations
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(Compiled by Micromedia ProQuest)
14,542 –special interest
10,223 – with unique email addresses (?)
6,669 trade associations
1,853 professional associations
2,541 business and finance
1,344 Boards of Trade/Chambers of Commerce
411 trade unions
2,467 environmental associations
441 - politics
1,983 art and culture
1,763 sports associations
MEDIA?
Membership size:
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182 associations with over 50,000 members
246 – with 15,000 – 49,999 members
448 – with 5,000 – 14,999 members
1,218 – with 1,000 – 4,999 members
State-society relations
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How much individual freedom and autonomy does
the state allow?
How free are citizens to form associations?
Does civil society challenge the state?
The rise of civil society is an evolutionary, gradual
process
At some point, this evolution leads to a clash with
the state
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A revolution takes place to establish society’s
autonomy from the state (civil and political rights
and liberties)
No revolution involves the entire civil society –
normally, it is led by specific social and political
forces which seek to represent “the people”
2 periods: late 18th century and late 20th century
The past 30 years: the fall of dozens of
authoritarian regimes
Civil society compelled the state to yield
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In established democracies:
The need to defend civil society from the state
Representation of interests means pressure on the
state
Every state policy evokes different reactions from
civil society: some support, some oppose
So, a degree of friction and tension between civil
society and the state is a normal condition in a
democracy
Relations within civil society
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How divided is civil society?
It is very diverse
Inequality of power
The associations may compete, but must not
destroy each other
Toleration of differences allows society to exist
Civil society may produce civil wars
Yugoslavia
Civil society as a model
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Developing countries, new democracies after the
collapse of authoritarian regimes
Civil society as a good society:
Autonomous from the state
Peaceful
Pluralistic
Citizens enjoying civil and political rights
Underpinning political democracy
2 sides to it
 1. For societies emerging from authoritarian rule,
the civil society model is a major step forward – the
main thing is limiting the power of the state,
creation of conditions for freedom
 More generally, with development of democracy the
dominance of state over society should give way to
the opposite situation: dominance of society over
the state
 But is the state the only source of antidemocratic
tendencies? And…
 What about relations within civil society itself?
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2. Once you leave state-society relations aside,
And begin a critical examination of what happens
within civil society itself,
You discover problems with the model:
What about inequality in the distribution of power in
the private sphere?
 What levels and forms of inequality and
discrimination are compatible with social peace –
and what levels generate deep social splits and
conflicts?
 Can civil society be oppressive of individuals,
minorities?
 Etc.
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Should a democratic state intervene in civil society
to help deal with inequality, discrimination,
oppression?
Violence in the family
 Mandatory primary and secondary school education
 Prohibition of private practices which violate human
rights
 Redistribution of wealth to reduce inequality
 Etc.
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The state can – and does - try to reform society
Some reforms are successful, others create more
problems than they solve
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Every reform program is a matter of debate,
supported by some, opposed by others
Because at stake is the distribution and use of
social power
Economic, political, cultural considerations
When do significant reforms take place?
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Sufficient pressure from citizens, civil society
groups
Political leadership accepts the need for reforms
Appropriate legal conditions are in place: the
government can actually do it
Are reforms always associated with the Left?
Generally, the Right is sceptical of reforms
But sometimes, the Right offers its own reform
agenda, which is also aimed at changing civil
society relations
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2 extremes:
When the state’s ability do deal with social
problems is artificially limited in the name of civil
society and privatization
When civil society is undermined - or even
destroyed - by the state in the name of progressive
change (the 20th century communist experience)
In both cases, democracy suffers, social progress
is stymied, the people lose power to elites
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Levels of government
National (central)
 Regional (in large states)
 Local (municipal)
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Distribution of power between the levels is a hot
political issue everywhere, at all times
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Historically, political power starts at the local level
and grows from the bottom up
Because that’s where the people are
Tribal authority
The rise of the city and the rise of the state are
inseparable
The state is built around the city
The city is the king’s fortress
But the city also contains civil society, with
elements of self-government
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In the Middle Ages,
3 axes of conflict:
 The
king vs. the city
 The city vs. the countryside
 The
city can be ruthlessly oppressive
 The power of the gentry
 The
king vs. the countryside
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In the Modern Age, the city becomes the hub of
social development
Industry, trade, education
Capitalism, industrialization and urbanization go
hand in hand
The city is the hotbed of change, new ideas, new
politics, dissent, revolution
These roles of the city collide with its role as the
state’s main base
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The rise of democracy does not eliminate the
conflict between the two sides of the city:
The seat of power – political and economic
 The home of society
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The countryside moves to the cities
The size and power of the state increases
massively
Liberal democracy increasingly becomes the norm
What do we see?
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Local government is closest to the people
It is elected by the citizens
Does it make it more democratic?
How close is it to democratic self-government?
Is it more honest?
How effective is it?
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The local government provides citizens with many
public goods
As cities grow, the demand for local services
grows, too
Lack of funds: growing need for help from other
levels of the state
Lack of power at the municipal level
Low levels of citizen participation
The divisions within the city
Some groups are more powerful than others
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City of Toronto 2008 budget
http://www3.thestar.com/static/PDF/20080129_A01.pdf
City of Toronto: Agenda for Prosperity
http://www.toronto.ca/prosperity/pdf/agenda-prosperityreport-full.pdf
Federation of North American City-States
http://allaboutcities.ca/the-origins-of-the-federation-ofnorth-american-city-states/