Book reviews: Citizenship and the pursuit of the worthy life by David Thunder

• Main Author: TAN, Seow Hon
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
• Subjects: Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2857
• Institution: Singapore Management University

What is the relationship between being a good citizen in a constitutional democracy and being a good person? By playing our parts as citizens, are we actualising our potential to live worthy lives, or are we risking moral purity? Citizens, even in liberal democracies, might find their integrity threatened by their civic duties, for example, to pay taxes and to vote in political elections, if they do not agree with the choices of the polity. Because of moral dilemmas in the event of conflict between one's moral views and the requirements of citizenship, it seems easier to compartmentalise citizenship within one's general moral life such that different moral principles are taken as applicable in one's role as a citizen. One might even regard citizenship as a moral hazard, and consequently, as far as possible, disengage from political life.