9 - Republican Citizenship

Summary

Chapter 9 revisits the republican conception of the citizen, a conception that has been largely muted in modern society in favor of the liberal and ethno-nationalist ideas. In recent years there has been an effort to “revive” republicanism as an alternative to both the consumerism and individualism of liberal citizenship and the unreflective jingoism of ethnic nationalism. Scholars like Michael Sandel have drawn upon the republican tradition of city-state citizenship to call for a renewed commitment to a republican urban citizenship. In this vision, the city would have the means to buffet itself against the forces of global capitalism and the disruptions of gentrification, and its public places – its parks, schools and libraries – would be sites of civic activity where strangers could mingle without being judged either by their identity or their wallet. Unfortunately, however, the republican concern with protecting the city from the world leads it down the path to a quasi-nationalist xenophobia, in which outsiders are ostracized and scapegoated.