torstai 6. marraskuuta 2014

There is no such thing as passive citizen

"In the process-oriented understanding of democracy, citizenship is an active, public status, marked by an ethic of participation. In this sense, there is no such thing as a passive citizen, as 'citizen' is an active position as such.

Rosanvallon (2006, 24-26) has as far as claimed that the idea of a passive citizen is but a myth created by political agents who either innocently or willingly fail to understand the modes of being active and doing citizen, other than voting for representative governments and organs.

This does not not indicate that politically passive people are not citizens. Instead, by treating citizenship not as a status but as something that actualizes in the situations and moments of activity, it is possible to avoid labeling people as passive or active, and to recognize that nobody is either completely passive or entirely active, nor are these qualifications lasting and invariable."

Eeva Luhtakallion kirjasta Practicing democracy