Social Citizenship: A Precondition for Meaningful Democracy

Abstract

In 1959, the scholar, TH Marshall, analysed the historical development of those features that were vital to effective 'citizenship'. He viewed democratisation as a progression, spanning three centuries. Civil rights were the great achievement of the 18th Century, establishing the principle of the equality of all members of society before the law. Political rights emerged in the 19th Century, paving the way for increasingly broader participation in the exercise of political power. The fulfilment of democracy is the recognition of the concept of 'social citizenship' in the 20th Century.