The liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that o

admin2011-04-26  33

问题     The liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that of the classical Greeks. The pursuit of private interests with as little interference as possible from government was seen as the road to human happiness and progress rather than the public obligations and involvement in the collective community that were emphasized by the Greeks.  Freedom was to be realized by limiting the scope of governmental activity and political obligation and not through immersion in the collective life of the polis. The basic role of the citizen was to select governmental leaders and keep the powers and scope of public authority in check. On the liberal view, the. rights of citizens against the state were the focus of special emphasis.
    Over time, the liberal democratic notion of citizenship developed in two directions. First, there was a movement to increase the proportion of members of society who were eligible to participate as citizens--especially through extending the right of suffrage--and to ensure the basic political equality of all. Second, there was a broadening of the legitimate activities of government and a use of governmental power to redress imbalances in social and economic life. Political citizenship became an instrument through which groups and classes with sufficient numbers of votes could use the state power to enhance their social and economic well-being.
    Within the general liberal view of democratic citizenship, tensions have developed over the degree to which government can and should be used as an instrument for promoting happiness and well-being. Political philosopher Martin Diamond has categorized two views of democracy as follows. On the one hand, there is the "libertarian" perspective that stresses the private pursuit of happiness and emphasizes the necessity for restraint on government and protection of individual liberties. On the other hand, there is the "majoritarian" view that emphasizes the "task of the government to uplift and aid the common man against the malefactors of great wealth." The tensions between these two views are very evident today. Taxpayer revolts and calls for smaller government and less government regulation clash with demands for greater government involvement in the economic marketplace and the social sphere.
It can be inferred from the passage that the Greek word polis means ______.

选项 A、family life
B、military service
C、marriage
D、political community

答案D

解析 根据短文可以推断,希腊词语polis指“政治社会”。在第一段,自由主义的观念强调追求个人的利益并且限制政府的权力,而希腊人的观念强调参与社会事务。可以推测polis是公众生活的处所,因此它一定指“政治社会”。顺便说一下,在国内出版的英汉词典中,polis一般译为“城邦”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/1k5YFFFM
0

最新回复(0)