UNIDAD 4 INGLES

UNIT 4 Rule of Law and Citizenship

• Introduction

• In Anger: ”Inhuman” Immigration

• Contents:1. The Historic Conquest of Citizenship2. Citizenship Under the Rule of Law3. From Liberal Government to Social Government4. Social Justice and The Separation of Powers

• This Issue in the Press: The Separation of Power

• Let’s Go to the Cinema: “A Man for All Seasons”

• Looking Through Images: Reflections of Freedom, Democracy and Jus-tice

• The World of Literature: Baltasar Gracián

• Final and Summary Activities

• Find Out and Take Part

Let’s Work

� The complexity of the concept of citizenship

� The evolution of the concept of citizenship throughout history

� The definition of the rule of law

� The meaning of the expression “social and democratic rule of law”

� The importance of the separation of power

1Education for Citizenship and Human Rights. Unit 4

Introduction

The exercising of our citizenship is always done in a historical context that is alwaysevolving and changing. Therefore it is important to approach the exercising of citizenship froma historical point of view. That means, knowing that our pretentions to citizenship are not thefirst and will not be the last.

In recent decades, moral philosophy and politics have not approached citizenship onlyin legal terms, as if the practise of the citizenship was only reduced to the relation between thepeople and the legal systems or legislation itself. Nowadays, as well as speaking of legalcitizenship, we use terms such as social, cultural, economic and even intercultural citizenship.In order to refer to all of these things as part of peoples' democratic life we shall speak of"democratic citizenship".

In this unit we will look at how the concept of citizenship has changed, and to whatextent it has been related, from the very beginning, to political organisation. Sometimes werefer to political organisation in terms of government (polis, republic) and this is the reason whyit is important to understand the relationship between citizenship and types of states. Nowadayswe only speak of true citizenship when there is a state ruled by laws, values and human rights.We also describe political organisations as “democracy”, describing not only the forms ofgovernment, but also a form of participating in public matters, of identifying with a politicalcommunity and promoting a worthwhile existence for all human beings.

One of the most important institutions in the development of democratic citizenship isthe Public Administration. It is a part of an executive power, not only in a national sense, but alsoin the context of an autonomous region and in a local sense. Nowadays, democratic citizenshipis not only practised on a national level. On the one hand it is open to a cosmopolitancitizenship, where the people in a country consider themselves as citizens of the world; forexample the way people in Spain are citizens of the European Union. On the other hand,democratic citizenship is open to an environment of proximity in which local and autonomouspowers participate. In Spain, the city halls and autonomous regions are institutions thatadminister increasingly more public services every day. This idea of service has developedhistorically as the ideas of separation of powers and social justice have become part of citizens'democratic convictions.


In Anger: “Inhuman” Immigration

Immigration takes place when a person leaves his home and travels to another countrylooking for better living conditions for himself and his family. Sometimes immigration takes placeunder poor circumstances, to the point where the immigrant does not actually reach his finaldestination. When immigration takes place under these circumstances where there is a clear“lack of humanity” we cannot but express our anger. We can try and find the people responsiblefor this, but the anger remains.


Contents

1. The Historic Conquest of Citizenship

Athens and Ancient Citizenship The concept of citizenship appeared in Greece in the 5th and 4th centuries before

Christ. It describes the way free individuals, who because of their condition could takeresponsibility for the dealing with public matters, participated in city life. These cities wereactually medium-sized towns called polis. This term refers to a city-state, which means, notonly the union of citizens but also the way in which they were organised. Not everyone had thecondition of citizen (politēs), because women, children and slaves were not considered capableof taking on the responsibility of running the city. The ones who had the condition of citizenswere obliged to participate in the running of the city, holding positions in equality and changingpositions from time to time.

Rome and the Limits of LawsAnother important moment in the history of citizenship came with the expansion of the

Roman Empire. Rome developed the Greek idea of citizenship and spread it throughout theMediterranean. Roman Law developed the procedures for taking part in the life of the Republicand obtaining citizenship. To be a citizen of Rome was a privilege and honour people from otherplaces could achieve if they obeyed the laws of the Empire or the Republic. From the firstcentury before Christ to the third after Christ, the concept of citizenship changed, not onlybecause it spread throughout the Mediterranean, but because it raised a very importantproblem: could only those who obeyed Roman laws be citizens? Was it possible to have anotherlaw, another Republic and another way of being a citizen? Stoic philosophers like Seneca and Cicero set out an interesting transformation of the conceptof the citizen and extended it to individuals capable of submitting to the laws of reason, as if thecity in which they had to live was not a real city as had been seen up until then, but rather a“virtual” city in which all human beings could participate.

National Citizenship, Modern Citizenship This tension between the real citizenship imposed by Rome and the virtual citizenship

in which one took part only by using reason and considering himself to be part of the world,would mark the birth of the modern concept of citizenship. Apart from this tension betweenwritten and unwritten laws, from the 6th century onwards, the concept of citizenship would bedirectly related to the new ways of understanding the Republic which, from then on, wouldreceive the name of “nation”. Citizenship became national and was limited by the state ofbelonging to a territory, by the link to a sovereign power and by the achievement of certainbenefits in exchange for certain responsibilities. With the appearance of modern nations,sovereignty was the responsibility of the nation as a whole (national sovereignty) or of thepeople defined as a group formed by all individuals (popular sovereignty).


ACTIVITIES:1. Create a “little” history of the idea of citizenship:

Citizenship… in

was characterised by..

ATHENS ROME “MODERN”

2. Citizenship and the Rule of Law

From the State of Nature to the Rule of LawFrom the 17th century onwards a concept of citizenship was consolidated that has

lasted until today. It is a citizenship we can call “legal” because it is related to the capacity tosubmit to laws or the Law and transform both laws and the Law. This double movement ofobservance and transformation of laws defines the concept of modern citizenship.

To describe this double movement political philosophers thought it was important todifferentiate between two ways of understanding the organisation of social and political life. Onone hand, there is the primitive and gregarious form in which individuals are all in conflictbecause they consider each other as wolves (homo homini lupus). This form is called the stateof nature and is not the state of civilised and intelligent people. On the other hand, there is anevolved and educated form in which individuals cooperate and are capable of giving way intheir ambitions so that everyone can be a part of the project of the city. This form receives thename of rule of law, because the relation between laws and the Law is a criterion to measurethe level of civilisation. The state of nature (barbarity) is in complete opposition to the rule of law(civilisation).

The Rule of Law and the Social ContractThis leap from barbarity to civilisation happens when individuals are capable of

submitting to the rules of a contract. The citizen is the person who is ready to make this leapand assume the consequences. The rules, norms, laws and values that are treated in thiscontract form a rule of law.

Citizenship according to Two Modern Philosophers: Locke and Rousseau


ACTIVITIES:

1. Define the following expressions: “State of nature”, “rule of law”, “social contract”.2. Read Locke and Rosseau's texts carefully. What stands out in each of them? How do theyunderstand political association (contract)?

J. LockeEssay on Civil Government

Being men free, equal and independent bynature, none of them can be withdrawn fromthis situation and submitted to political powerwith his consent. This is given by anagreement celebrated with others to meetand integrate in a community destined to offerthem a good, safe and peaceful life together.Two Treaties of Government

J. J. RousseauThe Social Contract

This act of association creates a moral andcollective body, composed of as manymembers as the assembly contains votes,and receiving from this act its unity, itscommon identity, its life and its will. Thispublic person, so formed by the union of allother persons formerly took the name of city,and now takes that of Republic or body politic;it is called by its members State whenpassive, Sovereign when active, and Powerwhen compared with others like itself. Thosewho are associated in it take collectively thename of people, and several are calledcitizens, as sharing in the sovereign power,and subjects, as being under the laws of theState.The Social Contract. Or Principles of PoliticalRight

3. From Liberal State to Social State

The Liberal Rule of Law After the liberal revolutions of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, the rule of law was

called “liberal rule of law”. This form of political organisation made individual freedoms the centreof democratic citizenship. These are the true freedoms, because public powers have theobligation to guarantee, consolidate and strengthen these individual freedoms as the basis ofdemocratic citizenship.

Social State and Welfare StateAfter the socialist revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries, the rule of law was called

“social rule of law”. This form of political organisation makes social conditions, materialnecessities and economic resources the centre of democratic citizenship. So that fundamentalrights were not just formal rights or rights only recognized on a paper, the defenders of thesocial state proposed equality as the centre of democratic citizenship. The social state did notpromote equality of results but it did present equality of opportunities, so that the less capablecitizens could participate as equals in public life. This concern for equality produced some newrights called “social rights”. Among these we can find the right to education, healthcare andcultural training. The social state not only protected citizens, it also trained them and promotedthem in order to encourage their welfare. This is why we can say that we have passed from asocial state to a welfare state.

Social and Democratic Rule of LawThe Spanish Constitution was one of the last European constitutions of the 20th

century. When it was written it adopted aspects of the liberal and social state. This summary ofpolitical traditions is one of the biggest efforts of the constitution because liberal- and socialist-inspired traditions can rule from it. A summary that does not refer to the existence of rights andlaws but to the recognition of values that are not the property of any political or ideologicaltradition therefore receive the name of higher values.


Artículo 1 de la Constitución Española1. España se constituye en un Estado socialy democrático de Derecho, que propugnacomo valores superiores de suordenamiento jurídico la libertad, la justicia,la igualdad y el pluralismo político. 2. La soberanía nacional reside en el puebloespañol, del que emanan los poderes delEstado.3. La forma política del Estado español es laMonarquía parlamentaria.

Artículo 10 de l’Estatut d’Autonomia de laComunitat Valenciana1. La Generalitat defenderá y promoverá losderechos sociales de los valencianos querepresentan un ámbito inseparable delrespeto de los valores y derechosuniversales de las personas y queconstituyen uno de los fundamentos cívicosdel progreso económico, cultural ytecnológico de la Comunitat Valenciana. […]4. La Generalitat, en el marco de suscompetencias y mediante su organizaciónjurídica, promoverá las condicionesnecesarias para que los derechos socialesde los ciudadanos valencianos y de losgrupos y colectivos en que se integren seanobjeto de una aplicación real y efectiva.

4. Social Justice and Division of Power

Democratic Citizenship and Social Justice Without the rule of law democratic citizenship is impossible. There can be other forms

of citizenship (legal, social, economic, global), but without a social and democratic rule of lawthere are no guarantees that individuals can develop within all the dimensions of their lives ascitizens. They could do it as voters, as consumers, as patients, as believers, but democraticcitizenship allows a complete development of all dimensions of life. One can be citizen in anon-democratic state, but citizenship would be limited and restricted. When we speak ofdemocratic citizenship we describe the conditions of belonging to a political community andalso the conditions of participation.

The level of integration and participation facilitates the application of the values ofliberty and equality. Furthermore, they make the justice within which they are expressed be notjust a nominal or virtual justice, it also measures up to the people and is a justice with a humanface, receiving the name of social justice.

Democratic Citizenship and Separation of PowerUnlike restrictive concepts of citizenship, democratic citizenship is a citizenship that

limits power in general. When there is a real consciousness of democratic citizenship it is difficultto exercise power in an arbitrary or tyrannical way. Democratic citizenship is the best toolagainst despotism and tyranny because it promotes the separation of power.

The three traditional powers are legislative power (creation of laws), executive power(governs according to the laws) and judicial power (applies laws and justice). The separationof power is what we could call a principle of democratic health, because it allows some powersto correct the others and these powers do not last over time.


ACTIVITIES:

1. What is democratic citizenship? Why is the separation of power so important?2. Read the texts by Tocqueville y E. Díaz carefully. What title would you give each of them?What ideas are the authors defending?

“Allowing citizens to be in charge of the administration of small matters, rather than presentingthem with the governing of bigger matters means you interest them in the public good andyou make them see the need that all people work to produce this good. …First you occupythe general interest and, by working for the wellbeing of fellow citizens, they acquire the habitand love of serving them.” Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America.

“El Estado de derecho no es sólo una cosa de juristas…el Estado y el derecho no son sinomedios oportunos, puede que imprescindibles para un fin más esencial: no se hizo el hombrepara ellos, sino ellos para el hombre…A quienes en rigor más importa que aquél exista,funcione y sea real y formalmente respetado, no es tanto a los gobernantes sino a losciudadanos, a sus derechos, a sus libertades y a sus necesidades; y muy especialmente lesinteresa a aquellos que pueden protegerse menos, o nada, por sus propios medios,empezando por los de carácter económico.”E. Díaz, Filosofía del derecho. Legalidad y Legitimidad

This Issue in the Press: The Separation of Power

“El César no se conforma con lo suyo”“La historia se repite. El César no acepta que lo suyo tenga límite alguno. ¿Qué es eso

de lo de Dios -dirá un socialista español- en un espacio público laico donde no hay lugar paraese nombre? Además, en todo caso, en una sociedad pluralista, en la que cada uno entiendelo de Dios a su manera, ha de ser el Poder del Estado, el César, revestido ahora con el mantodemocrático de la mayoría, encarnación de la voluntad suprema del pueblo soberano, la únicainstancia que establezca, mediante el ordenamiento jurídico positivo, las bases comunes de laconvivencia, obligatorias para todos, la llamada moral pública. Es el César quien decide quées bueno y qué es malo, que es justo y qué es injusto, a quién puede impedírsele nacer yquién puede/debe ya morir... ¿Sin sujeción a ninguna exigencia pre- y meta-jurídico-positiva?¿A su arbitrio? ¿Sin atención a logos alguno? ¡Eso sí que es omnipotencia! En este tolerantemundo politeísta, cada uno -se nos dirá- puede practicar su religión a condición de que todosnos atengamos al culto común de lo que dispone el César. No se nos exige -por ahora- querindamos culto a sus estatuas, pero sí que le ofrezcamos el incienso de nuestro silencioabsoluto ante sus formalmente democráticas normas. No se admiten críticas ni objeción deconciencia alguna. La historia se repite. En aquel momento en que se fundían política y religión,la imposición, religiosa, del culto al emperador romano respondía a una exigencia política: Siel emperador era el único Poder sobre todo el imperio, había de ser también a la vez, comogarantía de unidad, el único Dios para todo el imperio y a él habían de rendir culto todos, conindependencia de que cada uno, tolerado el más amplio politeísmo, adorara además en suámbito privado y, en todo caso, particular, a su particular dios.

Los cristianos son los primeros en reconocer la existencia de un espacio en el que elpoder político tiene su campo propio de acción, el ámbito autónomo de lo del César. Pero elCésar no se conforma con lo suyo. No le basta su autonomía, quiere la soberanaindependencia del Absoluto. Se erige en Dios. Eso es lo que los cristianos no pueden aceptar.Se niegan a rendir culto al emperador. Y esta postura, religiosa, resulta inevitablemente a lavez política, pues con ella se niega el presupuesto de que el poder imperial es absoluto, fuenteúltima y fundamento único de toda normatividad. Los cristianos no ponen en cuestión el poderdel emperador en su esfera, lo respetan y piden por el éxito de su gobernación, pero no podíanentonces, como no pueden hoy, dejar de entrar en conflicto con el César, con el poder político,si éste se autodiviniza. Cuando esto ocurre, sólo con tan religiosa manifestación como la dedar culto al verdadero Dios y, por lo mismo, decirle al César Tú no eres Dios, ya se meten enpolítica... Inevitablemente.

En esa posición de obligados objetores coinciden con los cristianos de ayer y de hoyquienes, aunque no profesen fe religiosa alguna, afirman la existencia de un orden objetivo deverdades y exigencias fundamentales de orden moral, anteriores y superiores a la voluntad delCésar, a la política y a todo derecho positivo, verdades fundamentales en cuyo descubrimientoy afirmación hemos de converger, en esta sociedad pluralista, democrática, mediante unpermanente esfuerzo dialogal. Ese ámbito es el que, en términos creyentes, constituye lo deDios. La defensa del ámbito de lo Dios es justamente la defensa de la libertad de conciencia.Los mártires cristianos fueron los primeros que, con su negativa a rendir culto al poder político,defendieron la libertad de conciencia y sembraron la semilla de la democracia auténtica comosistema de libertades. Y es ese sistema el que, paradójicamente, el propio César de origendemocrático hace desaparecer cuando no reconoce límites a su poder.”

T. González Vila, ALFA Y OMEGA, nº 601, ABC, 10-VII-2008


ACTIVITIES:

1. Look up the words you do not understand in the dictionary.2. Make an outline of the text with the main ideas.3. What does the expression “dar al César lo que es del César y a Dios lo que es de Dios”("Each person should take responsibility for the things they have responsibility for") mean?3. What powers are described in the text4. What should the separation of powers be?

Let’s go to the Cinema: A Man for All Seasons

The film knows how to express human dramas in an admirable way. It shows tensions,doubts, the crossroads in life, and it does it in an exemplary and paradigmatical way. The film“A Man for All Seasons” deals with the drama lived and suffered by Thomas More: whether toobey the law or follow his conscience. In this case, as in many others, conscience is not an issueof whim, but the demonstration of dignity and convictions. Conscience is another way of sayingconviction, and another way of saying citizenship.


THINK- If you watch the movie, make a list of the characters that appear and describe them briefly:what they are like, what they do, how they dress, how they react and, above all, how they argue.- Why is conscience so important? What does it have to do with dignity? And with citizenship?- You already know characters such as Socrates. What differences could be establishedbetween these two characters?- Do we build our life by taking big or small decisions?

ORIGINAL TITLE A Man for All Seasons YEAR 1966 LENGTH 120 min. COUNTRY United StatesDIRECTOR Fred Zinnemann SCREENPLAY Robert Bolt (Theatre: Robert Bolt) MUSIC Georges Delerue CINEMATOGRAPHY Ted Moore CAST Paul Scofield, Orson Welles, VanessaRedgrave, Robert Shaw, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern,Susannah York, Nigel Davenport, John Hurt, CorinRedgrave, Colin Blakely, Cyril Luckham PRODUCER Columbia Pictures(Information: www.filmaffinity.com)

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?The movie tells the story of the last days in the life ofThomas More (1478-1535), specifically the dilemma thatwill torment him: should he act following his convictions,even if it means his death? Or should he obey thepressures of the king, Henry VIII, who does not hesitate inchanging the law to his convenience? The film invites usto live this dilemma with Thomas More, and like him, wewill have to make a decision, one way or another.

IT MAKES US WONDER ABOUT:- The value of truth and one's own convictions- The power of conscience- Ways of fighting against the arbitrary decisions ofof the those who govern.

Looking Through Images: Reflections of Freedom,Democracy and Justice

EUGENE DELACROIX Painting that symbolises the fight against oppression and thedefence of rights


Look for Some Facts- Who was Delacroix?- What historical events is he representing?Learn to Look- Briefly describe all the elements of thepainting.- What does the painting express orcommunicate if we just look at it withoutany knowledge of the historical context?Think About the Image- The image symbolises a riot. Againstwhat? In favour of what?- If you had to represent a revolutionagainst unfair laws or a movement indefense of fair laws, how would you do it?

Look for Some Facts- Look for information about other monumentsto the Constitution (1978). Are there any inyour city?Learn to Look- Describe the artistic composition.- What do you think the different elementsmean?Think About the Image- Why do you think these monuments areimportant?- If you had to represent the Constitution,knowing what it itself represents, how wouldyou do it? Try

KEEP THINKING AND IMAGINING- With what image, painting or drawing would you representfreedom?- If you had to organize an art exhibition under the title “Freedom”,which painters would you turn to? What kind of paintings wouldyou choose?

The World of Literature: Baltasar Gracián

Baltasar Gracián is one of the most notable Spanish writers. He was a writer duringthe Spanish Golden Age (1601-1658). Among all of his work the most outstanding is El criticón,one of the most valued works in our country and above all, abroad.

It is also worth drawing attention to his Oráculo manual y arte de la prudencia. It is abook that shows the reader how to behave in private and public life. It could be considered areal guidebook to citizenship. It expresses the necessary values for a critical and livelyunderstanding of civic responsibility.


FEELING ANDTHINKING WITHWORDS- Research into whoGracián was. When didhe live? What was hislevel of importance andrelevance?- Gracián wrote usingaphorisms. What is anaphorism? What did hewant to express withthem?- Read the aphorisms weoffer you. Choose someof them and comment onthem briefly.- One of them says “elsumo derecho se hacetuerto”. What is meant bythat? Look for anexample to explain it.- Invent a short aphorismthat has to do with whatyou have learnt in thisunit.

Final and Summary Activities

1. Read the following articles and answer the questions:- Make a summary of the main ideas of each article.- What does each article guarantee? How do they take part in the constitution of citizenship?

Articles 7 and 8 of the Declaration of Human Rights: Rights as Guarantee

Art. 3 del Decreto 39/2008 sobre la convivencia en los centros docentes de la C.V.

Art. 54 de la Constitución Española. Del Defensor del Pueblo

2. You have probably heard of the “public administration”. Answer the following questions:- What does "administer" mean? How would you define “public”? What is the publicadministration? Who does it run and how?

3. It is important to understand social institutions, because they help us to live and coexist. Asan example we ask you to research into “civil protection” and “the office of immigration”.


“7. All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law.All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and againstany incitement to such discrimination.

8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violatingthe fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.”

“Todo el alumnado tiene los mismos derechos y deberes, sin más distinciones que aquellas que sederiven de su edad y de las etapas o niveles de las enseñanzas que cursen.”

“Una Ley orgánica regulará la institución del Defensor del Pueblo, como alto comisionado de las CortesGenerales, designado por éstas para la defensa de los derechos comprendidos en este Título, a cuyoefecto podrá supervisar la actividad de la Administración, dando cuenta a las Cortes Generales.”

Civil Defence- What is it, on what does it depend and how doesit work?- Who takes part?

- What is it, what is it about and how does it work?- Who does it depend on and what are theprocedures?

Office ofInmigration

4. Legal questions sometimes affect more things than we think. Do you know if you have to askpermission to have a party on the street? Who gives it and what procedures are necessary?And what about permission to protest? Who gives it? What is the difference between a legaldemonstration and an illegal one? What requirements are there?

Find Out and Take Part

Security, order and control are also important for the coexistence of citizens. Getinformation about “security”. To do this you can use the following chart:


SECURITY Who does itdepend on?

What are itsfunctions?

How is itorganised?

What elementsare used to

show its power?

How can youenrole?

NationalPoliceForce

CivilGuard

RegionalPolice

LocalPolice

SchoolSecurity

CustomsOfficers

Guard

CivilDefenceVolunteers

Documents

UNIDAD 4 INGLES