UNIT 8: IDEOLOGY & CITIZENSHIP

Dictionaries usually provide two definitions for citizenship:

1. the legal status of being a citizen (that is, a legally recognized subject of a state)
2. the social conduct or behaviour that comes with being a member of society including the duties and responsibilities that entails

Your ideas about what being a citizen means and what actions accompany belonging to your community, nation, and planet are determined by your beliefs about the world-your ideology. Your beliefs about the nature of human beings, how you see the past, how you interpret the present, and what you imagine for the future all shape your actions as a citizen. People with a strong belief in individualism may act one way while those with a strong belief in the principles of collectivism may act another.

Your actions are based not only on who you are but also on what you want the world to look like. 

This unit has two sections:

1. Worldviews and Citizenship
   
2. Taking Action

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In this unit, you will explore the following big ideas based on questions arising from the issue question:

1. How does my worldview influence my ideology?
2. What does it mean to be a citizen in a liberal democracy?
3. What responsibilities do I accept as part of my Canadian or other citizenship?

Which of these students would you say are "model citizens"? Does one of them seem more like a leader to you than the others? Each one belongs to a community and has accepted various roles and responsibilities that come with belonging. Although Juanita may seem to have taken on more leadership roles, all these students are leaders in their own way. Each one has accepted responsibility for belonging.

If you were to ask each of the six girls in the photo to tell you what "citizenship" means, you would get six different answers. Our understandings of what it means to be a citizen of a community, nation, or the planet depend on the experiences, beliefs, and values and that shape our collective identity. Just as our worldviews shape our identity and ideology, they also shape our ideas about how to act as citizens both in times of peace and in times of crisis. The students in the Grade 12 class-Juanita, Matthew, Lillia, Benlita, and Awasis-are all Canadian citizens. They each have an important role as citizens in their communities and their nation. Each has a different worldview and a different idea of what citizenship and leadership means.

Read the quotations below. Do you agree with any of the following definitions of citizenship?

1. To me, it means having an national identity, not just being patriotic, but being able to identify with my country of origin with pride.
2. Reciprocal belonging ... the city, province, country, world belongs to me and I belong to it.
3. Reciprocal responsibility ... I am responsible for the city, province, country, world and "it" is responsible for me.
4. Citizenship is formally adopting and/or accepting the laws of the country in which you permanently reside, and in return, you are afforded all the rights and freedoms of the country in which you permanently reside.
5. Citizenship means being a part of something really big-responsibility, respect, empathy, and caring on a grand scale.

What do you think about this oath?
If you were writing an oath of Canadian citizenship, what would it include? Would you include any of the following?

1. the responsibility to vote
2. the responsibility to pay taxes
3. the responsibility to volunteer in your community
4. the right to freedom of expression
5. the right to freedom from excessive poverty
6. the right to protest government actions you believe are unjust

You can find out more about how a person applies for citizenship by looking at the Government of Canada guide "Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship".

Another exciting way to rediscover your own citizenship is to attend a citizenship ceremony. You will find that many new Canadians are deeply moved by their sense of belonging to Canada. As Canadians, many new immigrants are able to experience rights and freedoms that were unavailable to them in other countries, including the right to political participation. Things that many Canadians take for granted are treasured by newcomers.

Consider some Aboriginal views on citizenship:

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada. The AFN represents all citizens regardless of age, gender or place of residence.

Another way to look at how your ideology and your citizenship are related is shown in this graphic:

Liberalism is based on the principles of self-interest, individual rights, and economic freedom. However, although nations are made of individual citizens, when they work together in a democracy, they form a collective. By voting, they decide on the world they want and express this through the will of the majority. Modern liberal democracies have evolved to place value not only on self-interest but also on collective interest.

Individualism and Collectivism

Think about the following headlines and possible solutions:

Problem	Solution One	Solution Two
"Recycle More, Waste Less, UBC Students Urge" (Vancouver Sun)	City council provides curbside recycling services funded through municipal taxation.	Individual citizens collect their own recycling and drive it to the town recycling centre at their own expense.
Childhood Obesity a 'clear and present danger' (Connecticut Mirror)	Schools provide fitness and/or nutrition activities to every child	Parents pay for or find volunteers to provide fitness activities for their children.
Debate Raging Over Alberta's Workplace Safety Record (Calgary Herald)	Provinces set up regulations to ensure worksite safety is practised.	Companies monitor themselves.
Healthcare Gets a Failing Grade (BusinessWeek)	The federal government establishes universal health care.	Each person pays for his or her own healthcare.

Jus Soli Citizenship

Challenges to Jus Soli Citizenship

Naturalization Citizenship

Dual Citizenship Pros and Cons

Which Countries Don't Allow Dual Citizenship



By implementing some of the principles of collectivism including collective interest, public ownership of some property, and if not economic equality at least freedom from extreme poverty, citizens use participatory democracy to construct the system they think works best for the majority. In Canada's liberal democracy, some of these goals are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Others are protected through law. Still others are supported by government programs and policies.

Citizenship in a liberal democracy has political, social, and economic implications. Politically, it involves in the democratic process through voting and obeying the laws of the land. It can also mean being informed about issues, supporting political parties through donations and actions, speaking out when you agree or disagree with government policies, and running for office. Socially, it means doing your part to make your community a better place. Economically, it means paying your taxes-and can also mean using the government services that are offered to you as a Canadian and spending your money responsibly to support corporations you believe in.

We cannot all be Mandela or Gandhi, but we each can take action as citizens in our own way.

In this section, you will consider the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizens in a liberal democracy. You will consider responses to humanitarian crises and the role of dissent and protest. You will also evaluate the most effective means of taking action to affect change in society .

Being informed about issues, contributing to political campaigns, and running for office are important aspects of participatory democracy. Another important way of acting responsibly is through making your voice heard. There are many other ways to participate in the political life of one's community. This type of involvement in one's community is known as citizen advocacy, which includes the following:

• Writing letters to your local newspaper editor, MLA , MP, or the prime minister is a way for citizens to let their leaders know their views. Through this input the government can learn what people want and how voters may react to legislation.
• Petitions involve writing one letter with many people signing it. A petition can be a very powerful way of showing the government what citizens want.
• Protests and demonstrations draw attention to concerns. Although peaceful protests and demonstrations are acceptable ways of influencing decision-making, that they do not become illegal actions is important.

Consumer Activism:

These global disasters call on people all over the globe to demonstrate their "global citizenship", which is their compassion for people who are in need outside their own nations.

Responding to these disasters can take many forms. Many people come forward with donations of money or supplies. Others volunteer their time to raise funds, some make the commitment of their time and energy to go to the place of crisis and volunteer to build houses, deliver medical aid, or help with clean up.

Example: McCarthyism during the Cold War

No matter your perspective on citizenship, good citizens are those who work towards making their community, nation, and world a better place. In every system, some disagree with current government practices. Dissent is a political act that refers to the many ways in which citizens voice their disagreement with government policies and actions. People who practice forms of dissent are called dissidents.

There are many reasons people do not agree with government actions. In your study of the historical evolution of liberalism, you learned that, as people obtained more economic freedom, they demanded more political and social rights, which led to the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by democratic systems today. What happens in political systems that have traditionally not been democratic? How has the pro-democracy movement led to political change in contemporary society?

After the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union, the former nations of the Soviet Union moved towards both capitalism and democracy. However, political change was slow. Many nations retained their communist leaders because there was no effective system in place to remove them. Many nations experienced voter intimidation and election fraud. One example was the Ukraine, where a massive protest movement led to change. 

Besides voting, citizens in democracy can openly protest, peacefully gather, and openly express their beliefs in public. Unlike non-democratic nations, citizens can publicly dissent or disagree with their government.


Citizenship in a liberal democracy means obeying the laws created by our democratically elected governments. But it also means freedom of thought and freedom of conscience. What happens when the views of citizens conflict with those of government?

Civil Disobedience

Sometimes differences in ideology results in a citizen peacefully breaking of the law. This is called civil disobedience. You may see it when an environmentalist illegally chains themselves to a tree to prevent deforestation, or in other cases, they simply refuse to obey a law that is 'unjust' and are willing to accept the consequences of breaking that law.

Without realizing, Wasyl had already taken two key steps on the road to effecting change:

• believing that change was possible, and
• being prepared to take a leadership position to effect change.

Not only was he prepared to take action as an individual, he was also ready to stir his community to take collective action.

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This unit completes your high school social studies education. Through your study of identity and citizenship, you should have formed a deeper understanding who you are, including not only the factors that have shaped your character, but also an understanding of where you belong in your world and the responsibilities that belonging entails.

Worldviews and Ideology

Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities of Citizenship

Worldviews are both individual and collective and influence peoples' ideology. Belief in a particular ideology shapes peoples' ideas about their roles as citizens in their community, nation, and world.

Citizens in a democracy have certain fundamental rights guaranteed to them by their constitution. The role of a citizen in a democracy includes respect for law and order, dissent, civility, political parties, and citizen advocacy. Citizens may have various rights, roles, and responsibilities during times of crisis. Individuals may demonstrate their citizenship in various ways including participation in anti-war movements, civil rights movements, pro-democracy movements, anti-globalization movements, and persecution of those holding ideologies they believe are dangerous. Leadership as citizens can be demonstrated in many ways. Responsible citizenship is seen through both individual and collective action. The way each person enacts his or her citizenship depends on the beliefs and values behind his or her ideology.

You have now completed all the course work for Social Studies 30-1. It is time to prepare for Final Exam, the second supervised exam in this course. The Final Exam includes all concepts you have studied in Units Five through Eight on the multiple choice.  It does not cover the first four units of the course. The position paper and the source based response are cumulative in that you can use any relevant information about liberalism and other ideologies. You get 3 hours to write this exam.

...and remember the Diploma Examination