Debates about citizenship tend to confuse more than they illuminate political discourse because they trade on two different conceptions whose relationship is not immediately apparent. Citizenship has legal meaning, which concerns an individual’s relationship to a particular government. However, citizenship can also invoke deeper moral claims regarding identity and the common ethical commitments that define a community. Various rights, obligations, and benefits can be attached to citizenship conceived both in juridical and moral terms. However, attending to the varieties of citizenship is difficult given the primacy of the modern state as a political unit. Upon examination, what conventional political debates illustrate – whether they concern economic distribution, cultural identity, or cosmopolitan travel – is that questions of citizenship ultimately concern the bounds of communities and the moral convictions that constitute them.
Varieties of Citizenship and the Moral Foundations of Politics
Varieties of Citizenship and the Moral Foundations of Politics
Recent Publications
- Debating Libertarianism: What Makes Society Just?
- Questioning the Assumptions of Political Discourse A Philosophical Analysis of Fundamental Concepts
- Common Law Liberalism: A New Theory of the Libertarian Society (Oxford University Press, 2024)
- “Diversity and Group Performance,” Encyclopedia of Diversity, Springer, 2024
- “Evading and Aiding: The Moral Case Against Paying Taxes,” with Christopher Freiman and Jessica Flanigan, Extreme Philosophy, ed. Stephen Hetherington, Routledge (2024)
Recent News
- America: The human plasma factory
- Office Hours: Evaluating the True Impact of Seemingly Good Acts
- Business as a Force for Good: MBA Students Support Hurricane Helene Victims Through Ethics Project
- New Editorial Team at Philosophy and Public Affairs
- Advocacy group concerned pay-for-plasma clinics expanding to Ontario will hurt voluntary donations