Citizenship & Pluralism

Citizenship is denoted as the state of being a citizen adhering to the rights and responsibilities of a particular social, political, or national community. To improve the life for all citizens, every citizen should practice “Active citizenship” which will result in the betterment of their community. Many schools provide citizenship education to accomplish this motto. Virginia Leary associated citizenship as a right to vote and also the right to receive some protection from the community as well.

Citizenship depicts the relationship between an individual and a particular nation. If one goes back to the ancient Greece, he can find that the main political entity of it was the city-state and the citizens were the members of the city-states. Later in the past five hundred years citizenship has got itself identified as being the member of a particular nation. There are some NGO’s (non-governmental organizations), multi-national companies, and trade organizations that cross national boundaries and called as the citizens of the world.

Pluralism, on the other hand denotes a diversity of views which takes an opposite stance to that of single approach.

It has been told that the problem of citizenship is very easy to state but quite difficult to solve. The views of the personal morality, their notion of things that are valuable in life, their enthusiasm in music and art sets the personal identity of every individual. These individuals with fragmented identities have got the need to live together politically. So, a common basis or reference is needed for these individuals where their claims can be judged fairly. Here comes the significance of citizenship and pluralism. Citizenship is believed to provide these individual a common reference point.

Though our commitments and our personal lives may be different form one another, we all come in one shelter claiming that we are the citizens of a country. So sharing a common legal status which has got a formally-defined set of rights and obligations will help us to unite together.

Several scientists noted that plural society can function only if a compromise about the fundamental standards and the values of various group of people in a society. Later this view this integrative view is being alternated with a coordinated view which does not deal with the commonality but with the compatibility of practices and views.

Concerning the citizenship and pluralism the diversification of societies have made an impact. With the diversification of societies, there is a need for the leaders and the communities to address the needs and the rights of the minority groups.

Questions

• What is pluralism?
• Is there a need for common basis? If so why is it needed?