The concept of citizen revisited

Prime Minister and Presidential front-runner Mahinda Rajapakse could be considered as having broken some new ground in the on-going discussions on the ethnic conflict by speaking of an empowered citizen. He says in 'Mahinda Chinthana' that his intention would be to devolve power on the citizen rather than remain "trapped" in concepts, such as, "traditional homelands" and "self-determination".

While only time will tell whether it would be in the interests of the peace effort to shelve from current peace discourse the concepts relating to group rights mentioned above, there is certainly a need to work towards a vibrant and empowered citizenry.

The citizenry of Sri Lanka should not only be empowered materially but intellectually and spiritually too. As for material empowerment, we hope the poverty alleviation effort envisaged by the Prime Minister would achieve the intended aims.

However, the other, non-material forms of empowerment would require initiatives on a number of other fronts - such as education - and we hope we would soon have a more perceptive and socially - responsible public who would be playing a dynamic role in the creation of a rejuvenated Sri Lanka.

Such reflections lead us to dwell on the classical conception of the citizen, such as that of the Athenian in the times of the great idealist philosopher Plato, for instance, who was not only expected to be law-abiding and concerned about the common good but also called on to participate vibrantly in the legislative process.

That is, every Greek citizen was expected to discuss intended legislation for the city states and be party to its formulation. He was also expected to discharge juristic functions - so substantial and politically weighty was the role of the citizen of those times.

Such schemes were practicable, perhaps, in small city states but are, admittedly, beyond the realms of the possible in today's large, complex democracies. However, the classical conception of the citizen points to the essential capabilities of a citizen, wherever he or she may be. They need to be perceptive, educated and articulate.

They also need to evince a high degree of social responsibility. If these are some of the attributes of the citizen Premier Rajapakse has in mind, then, we could only recommend it for early realisation. For, the average, contemporary Lankan citizen, although eulogised by politicians as "intelligent" and highly "politically - conscious", confines his civic duties to mainly voting at elections. We certainly need a more perceptive and articulate citizenry and we hope such citizens would eventually enter the public arena.

We are glad to note that Premier Rajapakse is attaching considerable importance to education at all levels because an active and perceptive citizenry is usually the product of a broad-based, liberal education.

The fact that we have failed to approximate to even some of the standards established for the citizen in what was considered the "Golden Age of Democracy" in the times of Plato, points to a lapse in the quality of the education we have been bequeathing to successive generations in post - independence Sri Lanka.

The education pursued by most Lankans over the years has failed to stir within them an intellectual curiosity for the things that edify human existence and which also imparts to the receiver a sense of social responsibility.

Our civic duties do not end with us casting a vote. We must be active participants in nation-building and the education we receive must provide this.