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The citizen and globalisation

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Markiewicz B. A.

Civitas. Studia z filozofii polityki (Civitas. Studies on politics philosophy)

2007

issue 10

191-203

The placing of the concept 'citizen' in the context of globalisation makes it possible to approach it using the category of 'cosmopolitism' and the related dispute between the advocates of 'pluralism' and those of 'hegemony'. In the debates on cosmopolitism, the transition from the classic concept of 'citizen' to that of 'citizen of the world', or cosmopolite, is generally regarded as something obvious, just as is its territorial extension. The concept of the citizen thus becomes transcendental and virtual. Usually its Greek roots are pointed to, as 'cosmo-polites'\ is derived from the word osmos', an ordered world, the universe and 'polites', a citizen. The historians of concepts are, however, right to point out that in its original form, that is, among the cynics and the stoics, the word 'cosmopolites' was understood in a philosophical and moral rather than in a political sense. It was a deliberate rejection of 'polis' as a specific place and a specific political order, in favour of a universal space and natural law. Humans, as inhabitants of the universe, are subject only to the authority of the world-penetrating 'logos', the principles and laws with which they were able to become acquainted by applying their own rationality; this very capability was an obligation to observe those principles and laws and to comply with them. Because of its very nature, the concept of a 'cosmopolite' is thus apolitical, or, in other word, not uncitizen-like.

Deliberations in a Melancholic Mood on a European Identity

100%

Markiewicz B. A.

Civitas. Studia z filozofii polityki (Civitas. Studies on politics philosophy)

2006

issue 9

20-40

Two political models of a European identity identifiable in contemporary theoretical discourse and subscribing to this mood are the Greek model, 'being-in-oneself' and the Roman model, 'being-through-others'. The first model is characterised primarily by the capability of absorbing outside influences and the ability to transform them in one's own achievements. This type of assimilation, that is, the recognition of that which is ours in that which is alien, the inhabitants of Hellas made the core of their identity. The capability of assimilation can be seen especially in the particular Hellenic relationship with the earth, described, for example, by Homer in The Odyssey. This demonstrates that the Hellenics developed their identity not through confrontation, but through the reflective recognition of the self in that which is alien, or as Hegel said, 'being-in-oneself'. The second, Roman, model in antithesis to the Greek 'being-in-oneself' is based on abstract community, is lawful and mediated via things. In this sense, citizenship becomes a question of belonging rather than of a sense of community. Political identity becomes something formal. This means that such identity ceases to be possible as a common self-definition, a collective self-knowledge and, to an ever-greater degree, it becomes a matter for the authority alone. It is forged by 'being-through-others', in other words, primarily through political structures. Picking out the two main models of building an identity which are present in European tradition should make us aware that today's endeavours relating to attempts to construct a new kind of identity are risky. This risk does not lie merely in the necessity of selecting a specific discourse and language concerning identity, which always unilaterally narrows the description, but is already hidden in the very narrative itself.

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2 Civitas. Studia z filozofii polityki (Civitas. Studies on politics philosophy)

2 Markiewicz B. A.

1 2007

1 2006

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The citizen and globalisation

Deliberations in a Melancholic Mood on a European Identity