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Encyclopedia > Civic virtue
The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.
For the Wikipedia policy regarding civility, see Wikipedia:Civility

Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community. The identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue has been a major concern of political philosophy. The term civility refers to behaviour between persons and groups that conforms to a social (ie. "civil") mode, as itself being a foundational principle of society and law. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which there is a progressive diminution of behavioral response probability with repetition of a stimulus. ... Political philosophy is the study of fundamental questions about the state, government, politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why (or even if) they are needed, what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and... Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ... Look up Civil in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word Civil is derived from the Latin word civilis, from civis (citizen). Used as an adjective, it may describe several fields, concepts, and people: Civil death Civil defense Civil disobedience Civil engineering Civil law Civil liberties Civil libertarianism Civil marriage Civil... A principle (not principal) is something, usually a rule or norm, that is part of the basis for something else. ... Young people interacting within an ethnically diverse society. ... // Balancing scales are symbolic of how law mediates peoples interests For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ...

Jacques-Louis David's 1784 painting The Oath of the Horatii, illustrating a dramatic moment from Livy's history of Rome, embodies eighteenth century ideas about civic virtue.
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Jacques-Louis David's 1784 painting The Oath of the Horatii, illustrating a dramatic moment from Livy's history of Rome, embodies eighteenth century ideas about civic virtue.

Contents

Download high resolution version (947x717, 248 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (947x717, 248 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Self portrait of Jacques-Louis David (1794) Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 – December 29, 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Oath of the Horatii (1784) is a painting by Jacques-Louis David, painted before the French Revolution, depicting the Roman salute. ... A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ...

The idea of civic virtue in the Western world

The inculcation of civic virtue has historically been a matter of chief concern for political philosophers under republican forms of government and for societies with cities. This makes sense, since to the extent that final decisions on public matters are made by a monarch, it is the monarch's virtues or lack thereof, that have great impact. Conversely, when a broader class of people are the decision makers, their virtues or vices become matters of greater import. Aristocratic oligarchies also can develop traditions of public lists of virtues they believe appropriate in the governing class, but these virtues differ significantly from the virtues generally identified under the heading of civic virtue, stressing martial courage over commercial honesty. Constitutions became important, either for a republic or a constitutional monarchy. The earliest forms of constitutional development can be seen in late medieval Germany (see Communalism before 1800) and in the Dutch and English revolts of the 16th and 17th centuries. In a broad definition, a republic is a state or country that is led by people whose political power is based on principles that are not beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... The city of Chicago, as seen from the sky A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ... Look up monarch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Ancient Greek term aristocracy meant a system of government with rule by the best. This is the first definition given in most dictionaries. ... Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... A war is a conflict between two or more groups that involve large numbers of individuals. ... Fortitudo, by Sandro Botticelli Courage, also known as fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty or intimidation. ... Commerce is the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money between two or more entities. ... Look up Honesty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Communalism is a term used by the German historian Blickle for a form of representative government in Europe before 1800. ...


In ancient Greece and Rome

In the classical culture of Western Europe and those places that follow its political tradition, concern for civic virtue starts with the oldest republics of which we have extensive records, Athens and Rome. Attempting to define the virtues needed to successfully govern the Athenian polis was a matter of significant concern for Socrates and Plato; a difference in civic vision ultimately was one of the factors that led to the trial of Socrates and his conflict with the Athenian democracy. The Politics of Aristotle viewed citizenship as consisting, not of political rights, but rather of political duties. Citizens were expected to put their private lives and interests aside and serve the state in accordance with duties defined by law. Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, which begins roughly with the earliest-recorded Greek poetry of Homer (7th century BC), and continues through the rise of Christianity and the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century AD... A common understanding of Western Europe in modern times. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Greece. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ... A polis (πολις) — plural: poleis (πολεις) — is a city, or a city-state. ... Socrates (Greek: Σωκράτης, invariably anglicized as , SÇ’cratÄ“s; 470–399 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher who is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy. ... Plato (ancient Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David (1787) The trial of Socrates in 399 BC gave rise to a great deal of debate and to a whole genre of literature, known as the Socratic logoi. ... From the Greek word polis(state-city), the Politics or Ta Politika of Aristotle is the second half of a single treatise of which his Ethics is the first. ... Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now usually a country) and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ... For the direction right, see left and right or starboard. ... Duty is a term loosely applied to any action (or course of action) which is regarded as morally incumbent, apart from personal likes and dislikes or any external compulsion. ... A state is a set of institutions that possesses the exclusive legitimate authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ...


Rome, even more than Greece, produced a number of moralistic philosophers such as Cicero, and moralistic historians such as Tacitus, Sallust, Plutarch and Livy. Many of these figures were either personally involved in the power struggles that took place in the late Roman Republic, or wrote elegies to the liberty that was lost during the transition to the Roman Empire. They tended to place the blame for this loss on the perceived lack of civic virtue on the part of their close contemporaries, contrasting them with exemplars of virtue drawn from Roman history, or even from non-Roman barbarians. Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA: ; Classical pronunciation:  ; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome. ... Historiography is the study of the practice of history. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Gaius Sallustius Crispus, simply known as Sallust, (86-34 BC). ... Plutarch Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46- 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was an Hellenistic historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Liberty is generally considered a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority. ... The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... // Barbarian is a pejorative term for an uncivilized, uncultured person, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos perceived as having an inferior level of civilization, or in an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, insensitive person whose behaviour is unacceptable in the purportedly civilized...


During the Renaissance

Old texts of the antiquity became very popular during the renaissance. Scholars tried to gather as much of old texts as they could find, in old monasteries, from Constantantinople or from the muslims. Humanists wanted to reinstate the ideal of civic virtue, as described in the ancient texts by educating people. Instead of punishing people after they committed a sin, the emphasis became preventing sins by teaching children virtues. Living in the city became important for the elite, because people in the city are forced to behave themselves when communicating with others. A problem was that cities attracted many proletarians, who were hard to civilize. Cities tried to keep the proletarians out or tried to civilize them by forcing them to work in poor houses. Important aspects of civic virtue were: civic conversation (listening to others, trying to reach an agreement, keeping yourself informed so you can have a relevant contribution), civilized behaviour (decent clothing, accent, containing feelings and needs), work (people had to make a useful contribution to the society). Religion changed. It became more focused on individual behaviour instead of a communion of people. The people who believed in civic virtue belonged to a small majority surrounded by 'barbarity'. Parental authority was popular, especially the authority of the monarch and the state.1 Humanist may refer to: a scholar or academic in the Humanities a proponent of the group of ethical stances referred to as Humanism a long-running email discussion list on humanities computing in typography, a group of sans-serif typefaces with some calligraphic features, such as Humana, Optima, Frutiger, Johnston...


During the enlightenment

Civic virtue was very popular during the enlightenment but it had changed dramatically. Parental authority began to wane. Freedom became popular. But people can only be free by containing their emotions in order to keep some space for others. Trying to keep proletarians out or putting them in a poor house was not done anymore. The focus was now on educating. Work was an important virtue during the middle ages and the renaissance, but the people who worked were treated with contempt by the not working elite. The 18th century brought an end to this. The advancing rich merchants class emphasized the importance of work and contributing to society for all people including the elite. Science was popular. The government and the elites tried to change the world and humanity positively by expanding the bureaucracy. Leading thinkers thought that education and the breach of barriers would liberate everybody from stupidity and oppression. Civic conversations were held in societies and scientific journals.2


In the republican revolutions of the eighteenth century

Civic virtue also became a matter of public interest and discussion during the eighteenth century, in part because of the American Revolutionary War. An anecdote first published in 1906 has Benjamin Franklin answer a woman who asked him, "Well, Doctor, what have we got — a Republic or a Monarchy?" (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Combatants American Revolutionaries, France, Dutch Republic, Spain, American Indians Great Britain, German mercenaries, Loyalists, American Indians Commanders George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, Nathanael Greene, Bernardo de Gálvez Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis (more commanders) The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War... An anecdote is a short tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ...

"A Republic, if you can keep it." ([1])

The current use for this quotation is to bolster with Franklin's authority the opinion that republics require the cultivation of specific political beliefs, interests, and habits among their citizens, and that if those habits are not cultivated, they are in danger of falling back into some sort of authoritarian rule, such as a monarchy.


The American historian Gordon S. Wood called it a universal eighteenth century assumption that, while no form of government was more beautiful than a republic, monarchies had various advantages: the pomp and circumstances surrounding them cultivated a sense that the rulers were in fact superior to the ruled and entitled to their obedience, and maintained order by their presence. By contrast, in a republic, the rulers were the servants of the public, and there could therefore be no sustained coercion from them. Laws had to be obeyed for the sake of conscience, rather than fear of the ruler's wrath. In a monarchy, people might be restrained by force to submit their own interests to their government's. In a republic, by contrast, people must be persuaded to submit their own interests to the government, and this voluntary submission constituted the eighteenth century's notion of civic virtue. In the absence of such persuasion, the authority of the government would collapse, and tyranny or anarchy were imminent. Gordon S. Wood is Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History at Brown University and the recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for History for The Radicalism of the American Revolution. ... // Balancing scales are symbolic of how law mediates peoples interests For other senses of this word, see Law (disambiguation). ... This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ... For the band, see Anomie (band) Anomie, in contemporary English, means a condition or malaise in individuals, characterized by an absence or diminution of standards or values. ...


Authority for this ideal was found once more among the classical, and especially the Roman, political authors and historians. But since the Roman writers wrote during a time when the Roman republican ideal was fading away, its forms but not its spirit or substance being preserved in the Roman Empire, the eighteenth century American and French revolutionaries read them with a spirit to determine how the Roman republic failed, and how to avoid repeating that failure. In his Reflections on the Rise and Fall of the Antient Republicks, the English Whig historian Edward Wortley Montagu sought to describe "the principal causes of that degeneracy of manners, which reduc'd those once brave and free people into the most abject slavery." Following this reading of Roman ideals, the American revolutionary Charles Lee envisioned a Spartan, egalitarian society where every man was a soldier and master of his own land, and where people were "instructed from early infancy to deem themselves property of the State. . . . (and) were ever ready to sacrifice their concerns to her interests." The agrarianism of Thomas Jefferson represents a similar belief system; Jefferson believed that the ideal republic was composed of independent, rural agriculturalists rather than urban tradesmen. The French Revolution (1789–1799/1804) was a vital period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to the mid 19th centuries. ... Whig history is a pejorative name given to a view of history that is shared by a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century British writers on historical subjects. ... Edward Wortley Montagu (1713 - April 29, 1776), was an English author and traveller. ... Charles Lee Charles Lee (1732–1782) was a British soldier turned Virginia planter who was a Major General of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. ... Sparta (Doric: , Attic: ) is a city in southern Greece. ... Egalitarianism can refer to moral as well as factual theories. ... Modern soldiers. ... Look up master in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China Rural areas (also referred to as the country, countryside) are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities. ... Agriculture (a term which encompasses farming) is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. ... The city of Chicago, as seen from the sky A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ... A tradesman is a type of worker found in all cultures throughout the world. ...


These widely held ideals led American revolutionaries to found institutions such as the Society of the Cincinnati, named after the Roman farmer and dictator Cincinnatus, who according to Livy left his farm to lead the army of the Roman republic during a crisis, and voluntarily returned to his plow once the crisis had passed. About Cincinnatus, Livy writes: Seal of the Society of the Cincinnati The General Society of the Cincinnati is a historic association in the United States and France with limited and strict membership requirements. ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... World dictatorships. ... With one hand he returns the fasces, symbol of power as appointed dictator of Rome. ...

Operae pretium est audire qui omnia prae diuitiis humana spernunt neque honori magno locum neque uirtuti putant esse, nisi ubi effuse afluant opes.. . .
(It is worth while for those who disdain all human things for money, and who suppose that there is no room either for great honor or virtue, except where wealth is found, to listen to his story.)
— Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, book III.

This society and these ideals indicate the deep impresion that was left on the republican revolutionaries of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by the moralistic Roman historians.


19th to mid 20th century

Civic virtues were especially important during the 19th and 20th century. Everybody had to act according to their class and profession. Every profession had its own uniform. The upper classes had different clothing then the lower classes. However, people became divided about what the best civic virtues were. Several ideologies came into being, each with their own ideas about civic virtues.


Conservatism tried to keep parental authority, by emphasizing family values and obedience to the father and the state (sometimes the monarch, depends on the country). Pure conservatism waned during the 19th century. Conservatives were forced to cooperate with right-wing liberals and socialists in order to keep a dominant influence in society. Nationalism carried by the masses of people replaced the old class conscience of the conservatives. Patriotism became an important civic virtue. Most conservatives supported religiousness. A focus on agriculture and landed nobility was surplaced by a focus on industry and civil society. Conservatism is a political philosophy that generally favors free markets, traditional values and strong foreign defense. ...


Liberalism combined republicanism with a believe in progress and liberalization based on capitalism. Civic virtues were very important. These were mainly aimed at individual behaviour. The evolution theory had a huge impact on liberals. Liberals thought until 1859 that the world was created by God and that the world and society were good. People would do good if they were allowed to be free. Many liberals turned into socialists or conservatives in the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. Others became social liberals, combining a believe in progress and capitalism with a strong government to protect the poor. Civic virtue was not only aimed at the individual anymore, but also at groups of people. Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ...


Socialism tried to make everybody civilized, just like the liberals. Socialists tried to make an end to indifference. An important civic virtue for socialists was that people should be conscious of oppression within society and the forces that keep things as they are. This conscienceness should result into action to change the world for the good, so that everybody can become respectful citizens in a modern society. Many socialists became nationalists. Famous for instance is the vote in favour of war by the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1914. Another example is the socialism in one country policy by Stalin, although it was probably just a strategy. Benito Mussolini and Joseph Goebbels used to be socialists. Many Labour parties of today combine socialism with nationalism and pro-capitalism. Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... SPD redirects here. ... Socialism in One Country was a thesis put forward by Joseph Stalin in 1924 and further supported by Nikolai Bukharin that given the catastrophic failures of all communist revolutions in Europe from 1917-1921 except their own, rather than relying on the idea that an underdeveloped and agrarian country like... Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) was the prime minister and dictator of Italy from 1922 until 1943, when he was overthrown from power. ... Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was Adolf Hitlers Propaganda Minister (see Propagandaministerium) in Nazi Germany. ...


National Socialism, which claimed to be a nationalist variant on socialism, advocated the creation of a classless society, in which all members of society 'pull together' to improve the society. National Socialism thus claimed to support class cooperation rather than class struggle. However, National Socialism also embraced the idea that certain segments of society (such as Jews, Gypsies, and Communists, as well as most foreigners) were inferior and incapable of civic virtue and needed to be systematically oppressed or destroyed. Furthermore, after the Night of Long Knives and the murder of Ernst Röhm a greater emphasis was placed on fostering values of unquestioning obedience to a single authority and protection of many, but not all, pre-existing elites. Even before the purging of socialist elements, critical thinking and political debate were discouraged by the NSDAP. The ideology of National Socialism largely fell out of favor after the defeat of the German National Socialist government in the Second World War, and the subsequent investigations of their crimes. The term National socialism has been used in self-description by a number of unrelated political movements. ... Class struggle is class conflict looked at from a Marxist, libertarian socialist, or anarchist perspective. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... Concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust The Holocaust was Nazi Germanys systematic genocide (ethnic cleansing) of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II. Early elements include the Kristallnacht pogrom and the T-4 Euthanasia Program established by Hitler that killed some 200,000 people. ... The Night of the Long Knives (German, Nacht der langen Messer), also known as Reichsmordwoche or the Blood Purge, was a purge ordered by Adolf Hitler of potential political rivals (who have been said to want more socialism and less nationalism in the party) in the Sturmabteilung, or S.A... A photographic portrait of Ernst Röhm. ... Hitler redirects here. ... The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Süddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ...


In later times

The cover of an Eclectic First Reader book.
The cover of an Eclectic First Reader book.

A number of institutions and organizations promote the idea of civic virtue in the older democracies. Among such organizations are the Boy Scouts, and Civil Air Patrol whose US oath, Cadet Oath and Cadet Honor Code reflect a goal to foster habits aimed at serving a larger community: Compressed jpeg of Image:Mreader. ... Compressed jpeg of Image:Mreader. ... Two of the best known school books in the history of American education were the 18th century New England Primer and the 19th century McGuffey Readers. ... A chained book in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University A book is a collection of paper, parchment or other material with a piece of text written on them, bound together along one edge, usually within covers. ... Scouts and Guides from different countries on World Scout Moot 1996 Scouting, or the Scout movement, is a worldwide youth movement of multiple organizations for both boys and girls whose aim is to develop young people physically, spiritually and mentally so that youth may take a constructive place in society. ... Civil Air Patrol seal The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... An oath (from Old Saxon eoth) is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. ...


US Oath: On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.


Cadet Oath: I pledge that I will serve faithfully in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, and that I will attend meetings regularly, participate actively in unit activities, obey my officers, wear my uniform properly, and advance my education and training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community, state and nation.


Air Force Academy Cadet Honor Code: We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably (so help me God).


Institutions that might be said to encourage civic virtue include the school, particularly with social studies courses, and the prison, namely in its rehabilitative function. Students in Rome, Italy. ... Social studies is the study of history, geography, civics, sociology, economics, and other social science subjects in primary and secondary schools in North America. ... Penology (from the Latin poena, punishment) comprises penitentiary science: that concerned with the processes devised and adopted for the punishment, repression, and prevention of crime, and the treatment of prisoners. ...


Other, later phenomena associated with the concept of civic virtue include McGuffey's Eclectic Readers, a series of primary school textbooks whose compiler, William Holmes McGuffey, deliberately sought out patriotic and religious sentiments to instil these values in the children who read them. William Bennett, a Reagan administration cabinet member turned conservative commentator, produced The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories in 1993, another anthology of literary materials that might be considered an attempt to update McGuffey's concept. Two of the best known school books in the history of American education were the 18th century New England Primer and the 19th century McGuffey Readers. ... A large elementary school in Magome, Japan. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... William Holmes McGuffey William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 - May 4, 1873) was an American professor who created the McGuffey Readers, one of Americas first textbook. ... William Bennett on NBCs Meet the Press William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... Conservatism is a political philosophy that generally favors free markets, traditional values and strong foreign defense. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... ANThology is the first major label album by Alien Ant Farm. ...


Civic virtues since 1950

Civic virtues became considered evil by many people since 1950. The rebels without a cause of the 1950s belonged to a minority, but the counterculture of the 1960s had an enormous impact on society. People tried to break all barriers and taboos. A life in a highly organized society with masses of people is impossible without virtues. An odly mix of subcultures and difference of virtues was the result. Socialism with its radical approach of changing the world was very popular during the 1960s and 1970s. But the main theme was individualism. Nowadays, people can choose which subculture with its own set of virtues they want to choose. National civic virtues are still praised and maintained by many people. A society without them can't function. But these virtues have to compete with individualism, globalism and environmentalism.


Comparable ideas in non-Western societies

While China has been a democratic republic for only a year in the 1912/1913, the public ethics of Confucianism, which specify cultural virtues and traditions which governors and bureaucrats are expected to uphold, can be compared to the Western idea of civic virtue. Confucian temple in Jiading district, Shanghai. ...


See also

The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator. ... A classical republic, according to certain modern political theorists, is a state of Classical Antiquity that is considered to have a republican form of government, a state where sovereignty rested with the people rather than a ruler or monarch. ... Classical republicanism is the form of republicanism developed during the Renaissance inspired by the government systems and writings of classical antiquity. ... The Commonwealthmen were a group of political thinkers in early 18th century Britain. ... Montesquieu in 1728. ... In economics, a public good is a good that is hard or even impossible to produce for private profit, because the market fails to account for its large beneficial externalities. ... Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on Liberty and ruled by the people. ... Whig history is a pejorative name given to a view of history that is shared by a number of eighteenth and nineteenth century British writers on historical subjects. ... The Battle of Trafalgar by J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1822–1824) shows the last three letters of this famous signal flying from the Victory. ...

Notes

  1. John Hale, The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance (London 1993)
  2. Daniel Roche, La France des Lumières (Paris 1993)

References

  • Parker, Harold T. The Cult of Antiquity and the French Revolutionaries (Univ. Chicago, 1937)
  • Wood, Gordon S. The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 (Univ. North Carolina Press 1969, repr. Horton 1975) ISBN 0-393-00644-1

  Results from FactBites:
 
socialstudies.org | Fostering Civic Virtue: Character Education in the Social Studies (2285 words)
Civic dispositions are those habits of the heart and mind that are conducive to the healthy functioning of the democratic system.
Civic virtue refers to what Alexis de Tocqueville called "habits of the heart," that is, a commitment to democratic principles and values that manifests itself in the everyday lives of citizens.
A person possesses the civic virtue of respect for the worth and dignity of others when he or she can be counted on to behave in a manner consistent with that value.
Civic Virtue, a Citizen's Responsibility, and the Femforce (2391 words)
Civic virtue is achieved when a citizen acts responsibly, and, in a larger sense, civic virtue can be seen as a willingness to forsake private interest for the common/public/collective good.
It was strength of character that allowed Valencia Kirk to recognize the value of civic virtue and the necessity of service when she became an intelligence agent and the same strength of character that motivated her to make the tough choice to carry on the work of her deceased husband and become a true hero.
Themes touching on the consequences of civic virtue and the effect of civic virtue on interactions with teammates, superiors, the government, or the public may be explored.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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