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From
Comrade to Citizen
Gregory
E. Hamot
Extracted from Democracy at Large: Vol 1 No. 4 – 2005
September 2005
Civic Knowledge
is based on an understanding of the principles and practice of democracy.
Six concepts lie at the core of global education for democracy:
- Representative
democracy: free, fair, open and contested elections through
which an inclusive citizenry chooses governmental representatives.
- Rule of
law: just treatment for all citizens through a constitution
based on rule of law that places appropriate limits on a representative
government elected by the people.
- Human
Rights: guaranteed equal protection of natural rights for
all individuals through the due process of law.
- Citizenship:
the source of authority for the constitution and the government,
whereby citizens take ownership of their country by consenting
to the manner in which it is governed and by choosing those who
will govern.
- Civil
society: a collection of independent associations that can
act unrestrained on any matter that does not endanger the human
rights of others and that can check the political forces within
a society that might like to circumvent government and the rule
of law.
- Market
economy: governmentally protected and regulated personal investments
involving a free exchange of goods and services based on competition
that allows prices to be set through the free consumer choices
of the people.
Civic knowledge
also includes an understanding of the various interpretations of
citizenship in democracies around the world and of perennial issues
embedded in the core principles of democracy, like the potential
clash between freedom and equality. This knowledge gives citizens
the ability to communicate with a common vocabulary and act together
for common civic purposes.
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