Review of Judith Shklar's American Citizenship
What it means to be a 'citizen' of America
Dec 20, 2008
In Judith Shklar’s “American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion” the very idea of what a ‘citizen’ or what ‘citizenship’ means is analyzed. The very idea of ‘citizen’ is very powerful- this word does not only refer to one’s rights but a guarantee to a decent standard of living. But Shklar’s main point is that to be an American citizen or being entitled to American citizenship does not give one the right to vote or the right to a job since it has not been written into the constitution- both very important to one’s guarantee to a decent standard of living.
History of citizenship
Shklar emphasizes the history of the idea of citizenship- in it’s earliest English meaning, for example, citizenship meant a residence in a city and was therefore referring to people who were the first to break free from slavery. Being a citizen, from the very first use of the word, meant being economically independent and was closely associated to ideas of freedom and liberty.
What 'voting' really means
On the very first chapter Shklar quotes a famous American judge Hand who sees his right to vote not as a means to change the outcome of an election but as a symbol of belonging and his ability to freely choose the political candidate he preferred. This highlights Shklar’s own view which is that the act of voting is less important than the right to vote- which makes sense in a country like America which has historically had only half of its ‘citizen’s voting in presidential elections which is the lowest rate of voter turnout in a democracy in the world.
Working and Earning
In regards to attaining a job Shklar makes a point in differentiating between ‘working’ and ‘earning’ because of the sad reality that some people are still not paid for their labour despite being a ‘citizen’ like everybody else. By this definition Shklar does not believe beggars for example to have rights to citizenship- being a citizen, in present America, means having economic independence by one’s own efforts.
Conclusion
The reason that the right to vote and the right to employment has not been written into the constitution, according to Shklar, is because of the privatization of politics. Books like Judith Shklar’s “American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion” is written in a confident but tolerant manner to try and ‘teach’ and ‘remind’ Americans that politics should not get in the way of all Americans being entitled to full and equal American citizenship.
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