Commonwealth Democracy

In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, Band 44, S. 41-50

Abstract

Advocates a broad-based reconstruction of public culture & citizen ownership of government based on the commonwealth tradition. The US history of the tradition, which stresses inclusion through civic production & socioeconomic equality sufficient to permit democracy, is sketched. Causes for the decline of civic engagement are identified: postwar emphasis on citizens as consumers rather than as producers; work specialization; an increasingly economic definition of wealth; cynical politics; & alienation from government. An example of community organizing in Seattle, WA, 1920s-1960s, illustrates the strength of the commonwealth idea, & possibilities for the contemporary revival of public work are considered. Unlike progressive & communitarian versions of citizenship, the commonwealth idea views governance as something done by citizens but does so without neglecting the reality of power structures/relations. E. Blackwell