Saturday, December 28, 2019

The Facade Of Universal Inclusion - 1539 Words

1482568 17 May 2016 Politics 4 Professor Mathiowetz TA: Covina Kwan The Facade of Universal Inclusion John Locke developed the political philosophy known as liberalism which in his â€Å"Second Treatise of Government† is centered around freedom, equality, the social contract and consent (explicit and tacit). Liberalism promotes the idea of universal inclusion of all. Drawing from Hanna Pitkin, a larger more inclusive image of liberalism would also include obligation. This paper will argue that a fuller image of liberalism is not a prescription to end white citizenship, because universal inclusion will not address the root issue that white citizenship is inherently etched indelibly into the fabric of American politics. Opponents may argue†¦show more content†¦Universal inclusion leads to colorblindness because universal inclusion remove whiteness because everyone will be included. The problem with universal inclusion is that citizenship as standing is an end. In his book, â€Å"The Abolition of White Democracy,† Joel Olson argu es that because citizenship is an end, once achieved the recipients become deactivated. Olson provides a historical context in which white democracy was created. Democracy and racism thrive on a parasitic relationship; therefore, white citizenship was created in a context of slavery. To establish and grow white citizenship, it was fundamentally necessary to create a â€Å"non-citizen† (Olson 43). The non-citizen was the minority, and the label of the non-citizen was easily applicable to the newly freed slaves. In modern day, every non-white is a non-citizen. Even with the banishment of slavery, white democracy still exists due to the â€Å"systematic exclusion of Black people† that has been maintained and furthered by the persistent structure of white democracy (Olson 37). Locke’s version of liberalism fails because in his perspective citizenship is all about citizenship as standing. Even if everyone is included, the certainty of them being free and equal is unknown. Olson would disagree because even if the Blacks are legally free and equally, Blacks are still indelibly linked to slavery and the degraded status they once had (Olson 53). Even if universal citizenship becomes broadly diffused,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.