What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen?   /   Fall 2008   /    Reviews

A Bibliographic Review on the Meaning of Citizenship

It is no accident that the question of citizenship is intimately connected with the question of meaning. For Aristotle and the ancient Greeks, citizenship is synonymous with human flourishing. To be a citizen means to live the good life. Indeed, asking what it means to be a citizen is to ask the questions at the heart of human existence: Who am I? To what communities do I belong? To whom do I owe my loyalty? How am I to live my life?

To read the full article online, please login to your account or subscribe to our digital edition ($25 yearly). Prefer print? Order back issues or subscribe to our print edition ($30 yearly).

Reprinted from The Hedgehog Review 10.3 (Fall 2008). This essay may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission. Please contact The Hedgehog Review for further details.