By Nontlantla Skenjana

Citizenship is an old term that has evolved through various transitions. It is believed that the origins of the term dates back centuries before Christ (Preuss: 2003). However, the context of its application has changed from being an institution of the minority to rule and be ruled and from being male dominated to being a term that encompasses all and places people at one level of equality. This notwithstanding, citizenship in some societies is a term only reserved for those who agree with the constitution of that country and are bound by the laws that govern the country. One of the great theorists of citizenship T.H.Marshall (1950) views citizenship not only in terms of civil and political rights but also in relation to people’s social rights. He argues that their rights should include a “modicum of economic welfare ... to live the life of a civilized being according to the standards prevailing in the society”. However, this focus on rights tends to narrow citizenship into passiveness and creates no space for duties and obligations of the citizens. This becomes even more problematic in a democratic context where it is argued that democracy is a government of the people, by the people, for the people and with the people. Ideally, this requires high levels of public participation in all the affairs of the state. Democratic governments argue that not only does democracy require participation but also civility and patience.

A New Approach for Responsible Citizens

Westheimer (2004) identifies three types of good citizens, the personally responsible, the participatory and the justice-oriented citizens. He argues that the personally responsible citizen are those who take individual responsibility for their lives, their community, for example, by paying taxes, taking care of their space/environment, giving to the poor or staying out of debt. They emphasize on integrity, self-discipline and hard work. He then presents the participatory citizen as those who take part and interest in civic affairs and in social well being of the community. The central theme of the participatory citizen is collective social impact through being organised, building relationships and common understandings. The third category of citizen focuses on injustice through assessing the social, political and economic terrains, adopting strategies that will collectively address social justice challenges and new approaches to a better and just society for all. While the first category will place more emphasis on individual impact the latter two place emphasis on collective impact. However, while a participatory citizen will focus on social change, the justice-oriented citizen will be more concerned with systematic change.

The above discussion illustrates that the concept of responsible citizenship may be interpreted differently in different contexts. Theodore Roosevelt (1902) understood the first requisite of a good citizen as ‘that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight.’ This understanding does not limit the person from acting individually or as a collective. Like Marshall, the South African liberation era placed a lot of emphasis on the political and social rights of all South Africans. The apartheid government’s policies were based on segregation based on race and thus rejected Marshall’s concept of social rights for all citizens hence the greater emphasis by liberation movements on rights. However, the democratic state has found itself in a standoff where citizens have expectations that cannot be met by government alone. This is more so because of the social environment of the majority of South African, which reeks of poverty, low skills levels and underdevelopment. These social-economic challenges make it difficult for government to maximally use the tax system. It also encourages the shift towards a welfare state, i.e. the provision of public education, health and social grants as major expenditures of the nation state. Although these ills have a potential to cripple the citizens, the Constitution of the Republic gives the responsibility of governing and administering the country to all the people in the preamble – ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it.’ The essence of the sense of belonging assumes that one also takes responsibility for that which belongs to him and in this context; it is the first impression of our democracy bringing across the principle of equality.

Regaining Community Ownership Collectively

It is often argued that rights come with responsibilities and that one’s right should not infringe on the rights of another. Practically, when in exercising the freedom of expression one speaks wrongly of another with malicious intent it may infringe the rights of the other. It may be argued by the personally responsible citizens that it is an individual’s responsibility to stay out of debt. The participatory citizen may argue that illegal loan sharks are the cause for the high levels of indebtedness while the justice-oriented citizen may argue that there needs to be a systematic change in the legislation of financial services providers. From the above example, arguably, the South African story leans more towards participatory and justice-oriented citizens. These categories argue for the collective rather than the individual, however, the impact is not always positive as we have seen the destruction of properties, public facilities and even public intimidation during service delivery protests.

South African government faces high service delivery backlogs at all levels of government. There has been a call at various platforms that government must intervene in fighting crime, developing entrepreneurs, overcoming poverty and even restoring the moral fibre of communities. But a more fundamental question is what does the rest of South Africa do while it waits for government to build houses and a raise disciplined youth? There have been debates around responsible citizenship and even the possibility of introducing it to the school curricula as is done in other parts of parts of the world. However, there is no prescription as to what role households and families should play in moulding disciplined young people with a sense of purpose and personal integrity. As is evident, a little yeast makes whole dough to rise. Likewise, the frequent destruction of public property, corruption and violence in general might just socialise a whole generation into believing that these are the solutions to societal problems. If parents cannot be personally responsible in their own families, will they be able raise children who are responsible? If people cannot take care of their own personal environment, how can they be expected to take care of a community?

Conclusion

Zakes Mda in The Madonna of Excelsior claims that before 1994 people took care of their gardens, and planted food and flowers for subsistence and dignity while in post 1994 they expect the municipality to do it for them. Perhaps it is true, collective impact is greater than that of an individual. However, it is individuals who make up the collective. It takes a collective of personally responsible citizens ‘to realise their obligation to take actions that ensure that communities are healthy, safe and secure and provide for the public and personal good’ (Society for Community Development). Is it not time then, to be responsible citizens in our homes, work and community and thus produce leaders who are responsible?

References
•    Ben-Ishai E. Unknown. Towards a Revised Conception of Social Citizenship: An Autonomy-Focused Model. University of Michigan
•    Citizenship Foundation - http://www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk/main/page.php?286. Accessed  30 January 2011
•    Chitranshi, M. 2009 Guiding Principles of Democracy. http://www.articleswave.com/articles/guiding-principles-of-democracy.html. Accessed 30 January 2011
•    Democracy and Citizenship. The Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation. www.justassociates.org/06ch%202.pdf. Accessed 02 February 2011
•    Preuss U. 2003. The Ambiguous Meaning of Citizenship. Centre for Comparitive Constitutionalism. December,1 2003.
•    Responsible Citizenship http://www.societyforcommunitydevelopment.com/responsible_citizenship. Accessed 02 February 2011
•    Responsible Citizenship and Cultural Differences. http://socyberty.com/sociology/responsible-citizenship-cultural-differences/. Accessed 02 February 2011
•    The meaning of Citizenship in a Democratic Nation. www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com. Accessed 02 February 2011.
•    Westheimer J. & Kahne J. Excerpted from “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy” American Educational Research Journal. Volume 41 No. 2, Summer 2004, 237-269.