Civic virtue is a concept that refers to the set ofhabits,values, andattitudes that promote the general welfare and the effective functioning of a society. Closely linked to the concept ofcitizenship, civicvirtue (virtus) represents, therefore, the disposition of citizens to put thecommon good (bonum commune) before special interests. The identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue has been a major concern ofpolitical philosophy. The termcivility refers tobehavior between persons and groups that conforms to asocial mode (that is, in accordance with thecivil society), as itself being a foundation of society andlaw.
Civic virtues are historically taught as a matter of chief concern in nations underrepublican forms of government, and societies withcities. When final decisions on public matters are made by amonarch, it is the monarch's virtues which influence those decisions. When a broader class of people become the decision-makers, it is then their virtues which characterize the types of decisions made. This form of decision-making is considered superior in determining what best protects the interests of the majority.Aristocraticoligarchies may also develop traditions of public lists of virtues they believe appropriate in the governing class, but these virtues differ from the general civic virtues; for example, ruling class virtues stressmartialcourage overcommercialhonesty.Constitutions became important in defining the public virtue of republics and constitutional monarchies. The earliest forms of constitutional development can be seen in late medieval Germany (seeCommunalism before 1800) and in the Dutch and English revolts of the 16th and 17th centuries.
In theclassical culture ofEurope and those places that follow its political tradition, concern for civic virtue starts with the oldest republics of which we have extensive records,Athens andRome. Attempting to define the virtues needed to successfully govern the Athenianpolis was a matter of significant concern forSocrates andPlato; a difference in civic vision ultimately was one of thefactors that led to thetrial of Socrates and his conflict with the Atheniandemocracy. ThePolitics ofAristotle viewedcitizenship as consisting, not of politicalrights, but rather of politicalduties. Citizens were expected to put their private lives and interests aside and serve thestate in accordance with duties defined by law.
Rome, even more thanGreece, produced a number of moralistic philosophers such asCicero, and moralistichistorians such asTacitus,Sallust,Plutarch andLivy. Many of these figures were either personally involved in power struggles that took place in the lateRoman Republic, or wrote elegies toliberty which was lost during their transition to theRoman Empire. They tended to blame this loss of liberty on the perceived lack of civic virtue in their contemporaries, contrasting them with idealistic examples of virtue drawn from Roman history, and even non-Roman "barbarians".
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Texts of antiquity became very popular by theRenaissance. Scholars tried to gather as many of them as they could find, especially in monasteries, from Constantinople, and from the Muslim world. Aided by the rediscovery of thevirtue ethics andmetaphysics ofAristotle byAvicenna andAverroes,Thomas Aquinas fusedAristotle'scardinal virtues withChristianity in hisSumma Theologica (1273).
Humanists wanted to reinstate the ancient ideal of civic virtue through education. Instead of punishing sinners, it was believed that sin could be prevented by raising virtuous children. Living in the city became important for the elite, because people in the city are forced to behave themselves when communicating with others. A problem was that theproletarianization of peasants created an environment in cities where such workers were hard to control. Cities tried to keep the proletarians out or tried to civilize them by forcing them to work in poor houses. Important aspects of civic virtue were: civic conversation (listening to others, trying to reach an agreement, keeping yourself informed so you can have a relevant contribution), civilized behavior (decent clothing, accent, containing feelings and needs), work (people had to make a useful contribution to the society). Religion changed. It became more focused on individual behavior instead of a communion of people. The people who believed in civic virtue belonged to a small majority surrounded by "barbarity". Parental authority was popular, especially the authority of the monarch and the state.[1]
Civic virtue was very popular duringthe Enlightenment but it had changed dramatically. Parental authority began to wane. Freedom became popular. But people can only be free by containing their emotions in order to keep some space for others. Trying to keep proletarians out or putting them in a poor house was not done anymore. The focus was now on educating. Work was an important virtue during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, but the people who worked were treated with contempt by the non-working elite. The 18th century brought an end to this. The advancing rich merchants class emphasized the importance of work and contributing to society for all people including the elite. Science was popular. The government and the elites tried to change the world and humanity positively by expanding the bureaucracy. Leading thinkers thought that education and the breach of barriers would liberate everybody from stupidity and oppression. Civic conversations were held in societies and scientific journals.[2]
Civic virtue also became a matter of public interest and discussion during the 18th century, in part because of theAmerican Revolutionary War. Ananecdote first published in 1906 hasBenjamin Franklin answer a woman who asked him, "Well, Doctor, what have we got – a Republic or a Monarchy?" He responded: "A Republic, if you can keep it."[3] The current use for this quotation is to bolster with Franklin's authority the opinion that republics require the cultivation of specific political beliefs, interests, and habits among their citizens, and that if those habits are not cultivated, they are in danger of falling back into some sort of authoritarian rule, such as a monarchy.
American historianGordon S. Wood called it a universal 18th-century assumption that, while no form of government was more beautiful than a republic, monarchies had various advantages: the pomp and circumstances surrounding them cultivated a sense that the rulers were in fact superior to the ruled and entitled to their obedience, and maintained order by their presence. By contrast, in a republic, the rulers were the servants of the public, and there could therefore be no sustained coercion from them. Laws had to be obeyed for the sake of conscience, rather than fear of the ruler's wrath. In a monarchy, people might be restrained by force to submit their own interest to their government's. In a republic, by contrast, people must be persuaded to submit their own interests to the government, and this voluntary submission constituted the 18th century's notion of civic virtue. In the absence of such persuasion, the authority of the government would collapse, andtyranny oranarchy were imminent.
Authority for this ideal was found once more among the classical, and especially the Roman, political authors and historians. But since the Roman writers wrote during a time when the Roman republican ideal was fading away, its forms but not its spirit or substance being preserved in the Roman Empire, the 18th-century American andFrench revolutionaries read them with a spirit to determine how the Roman republic failed, and how to avoid repeating that failure. In hisReflections on the Rise and Fall of the Antient Republicks, theEnglishWhighistorianEdward Wortley Montagu sought to describe "the principal causes of that degeneracy of manners, which reduc'd those once brave and free people into the most abject slavery." Following this reading of Roman ideals, the American revolutionaryCharles Lee envisioned aSpartan,egalitarian society where every man was asoldier and master of his own land, and where people were "instructed from early infancy to deem themselves property of the State.... (and) were ever ready to sacrifice their concerns to her interests." Theagrarianism ofThomas Jefferson represents a similar belief system; Jefferson believed that the ideal republic was composed of independent,ruralagriculturalists rather thanurbantradesmen.
These widely held ideals led American revolutionaries to found institutions such as theSociety of the Cincinnati, named after the Romanfarmer anddictatorLucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who according to Livy left his farm to lead the army of the Roman republic during a crisis, and voluntarily returned to his plow once the crisis had passed. About Cincinnatus, Livy writes:
Operae pretium est audire qui omnia prae diuitiis humana spernunt neque honori magno locum neque uirtuti putant esse, nisi ubi effuse afluant opes ....
(It is worth while for those who disdain all human things for money, and who suppose that there is no room either for great honor or virtue, except where wealth is found, to listen to his story.)
— Livy,Ab Urbe Condita, book III.
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Civic virtues were especially important during the 19th and 20th century.[according to whom?] Class and profession greatly affected the virtues of the individual, and there was a general division about what the best civic virtues were. Additionally several majorideologies came into being, each with their own ideas about civic virtues.
Conservatism emphasized family values and obedience to the father and the state.Nationalism carried by masses of people madepatriotism an important civic virtue.Liberalism combined republicanism with a belief in progress and liberalization based oncapitalism. Civic virtues focused on individual behavior and responsibility were very important. Many liberals turned into socialists or conservatives in the end of the 19th century and early 20th century.[according to whom?] Others became social liberals, valuing capitalism with a strong government to protect the poor. A focus on agriculture andlanded nobility was supplanted by a focus on industry and civil society.
A number of institutions and organizations promote the idea of civic virtue in the older democracies. Among such organizations are theBoy Scouts of America, andCivil Air Patrol whose U.S.oath, Cadet Oath and Cadet Honor Code reflect a goal to foster habits aimed at serving a larger community:
Boy Scouts of America Scout Oath:
On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.
Boy Scouts of America Scout Law:
A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
Cadet Oath:
I pledge that I will serve faithfully in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, and that I will attend meetings regularly, participate actively in unit activities, obey my officers, wear my uniform properly, and advance my education and training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community, state and nation.
Air Force Academy Cadet Honor Code:
We will not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably (so help me God).
Institutions that might be said to encourage civic virtue include theschool, particularly withsocial studies courses, and theprison, namely in itsrehabilitative function.
Other, later phenomena associated with the concept of civic virtue includeMcGuffey's Eclectic Readers, a series ofprimary schooltextbooks whose compiler,William Holmes McGuffey, deliberately sought out patriotic and religious sentiments to instill these values in the children who read them.William Bennett, aReagan administration cabinet member turnedconservative commentator, producedThe Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories in 1993, anotheranthology of literary materials that might be[weasel words] considered an attempt to update McGuffey's concept.
Confucianism, which specifies cultural virtues and traditions which all members of society are to observe, in particular the heads of households and those who govern, was the basis of Chinese society for more than 2000 years and is still influential in modern China. Its related concepts can be compared to the Western idea of civic virtue.
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