Den goda medborgaren i det västerländska samhället

Abstract

This thesis is about the good citizen in a typical Western society. This type of society is characterized by some kind of representative democracy, some kind of market economy, and a relatively large amount of personal freedom that allows its citizens to choose their own way of life. Sweden and USA are thus both Western societies even though the political and economic systems in these two societies are far from identical. Here the good citizen is studied from the perspective of political philosophy. The approach is normative, and the purpose is to identify the qualities that characterize such a citizen. This is thus a theory of the important civic virtues in Western society.

This theory is rooted in a thorough analysis of the concept civic virtue in a Western society that touches upon questions concerning different kinds of human qualities, value-theory and ontology. Guided by this conceptual analysis, these virtues are roughly identified using a slightly modified version of Martha Nussbaums theory on human capabilities and various kinds of empirical research concerning the institutions of Western society.

Some of these important virtues are virtues for all citizens in a Western society. Other virtues are specific to citizens in certain roles: politicians, officials, voters, entrepreneurs and so on. An additional important conclusion is that some of these virtues are virtues in all kinds of societies, while others may be more specific to western societies during a specific period of time.