Responsibilities of a Good Citizen in a Democratic Society - Essay Example

In a democratic society, citizens are provided an opportunity to enjoy equal rights and freedom of thought along with the condition in which they can also deal with fair trials and perceptions of minorities. A well-established democratic society requires citizens, who should be active and well aware of their roles and responsibilities for the betterment of their society as well as for maintaining their living standards in society. In this paper, we shall discuss the roles and responsibilities of good citizens living in a democratic society.

Discussion
The typical definition of a good citizen states that a good citizen needs to represent values, morals, and models of responsible attitude and democratic values solely for the growth and improvement of society. To perform the assigned roles and responsibilities of a good citizen, people are required to gain knowledge concerning social, political, economic and legal, and other institutional roles and issues. Up-to-date knowledge and a good understanding of all rights and roles of social institutions can help a citizen to understand his responsibilities and actions he/she can take to improve societal conditions. Additionally, knowledge or understanding of a good citizen should not be confined to roles and issues raised by societal institutions, but he should be aware of all current happenings that take place in the society and ultimately result in good or bad for the people.
Carroll has discussed in his work that the responsibilities of a good citizen should be identified as corporate social responsibilities (CSR). These responsibilities involve economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time (Sison, 2008). The core understanding of corporate social responsibilities implies that institutions that are involved in the process of socialization should have moral, philanthropic, and ethical responsibilities. However, from the broader spectrum, Carroll emphasized the fact that corporate social responsibilities should not be solely viewed traditionally. But, citizens should be provided with an opportunity, where they can enjoy several constituencies such as employees, local state or community, environmental groups, suppliers, clients, and other special interest parties (Sison, 2008).

According to Loeb, the responsibilities of a citizen in a democratic society have been defined as making society more lively, safe, and a potential place for the people to live in. The author has strongly focused on the role of citizens to bring positive social change in the country, whenever a society suffers any critical social, political, or economic issue. Additionally, apart from understanding the roles and responsibilities, a citizen needs to have such feelings and enthusiasm for the society that led him/her to participate actively in all activities and social works that aim to improve living conditions in a democratic community (Loeb, 2011). Also, Loeb highlights that it is not only important to work in a group or with any organization for the betterment of social issues, but it should be noted that every effort is worthy and individual efforts of citizens can also contribute to making a considerable difference in a democratic society. It is because, in the democratic system, all citizens are equal and they have freedom of speech or thoughts that can even bring a revolution on a national level.
Liu has mentioned the five core responsibilities of a good citizen in a democratic society. Firstly, a citizen should be courageous enough to serve in the military if needed. He/she should obey all laws and regulations of society and should encourage others to do so. Payment of taxes and active participation in different types of social work is highly recommended. The last and most important responsibility of a democratic citizen is to vote and participate as much as possible in making and running political approaches, which are aimed to progress and grow society.

Zinn has expanded the concept of rights to benefit common citizens of a democratic society. He has focused on the livelihoods and decent live style of people with proper housing and nourishment facilities. Promotion of general welfare, the establishment of justice, sharing of national wealth, and fulfillment of all necessities are some of those points, which he highlighted. Also, he suggested that fulfillment of the aforementioned requirements can potentially contribute to promoting ideal citizenship (Tirman, 2011). He testified that ideal citizenship is a power that can lead a good citizen to understand his rights and roles and practically perform on social grounds for the benefit of the state in return. From his perceptions, it has been noticed that initially, he emphasized on citizens’ rights and then responsibilities for the growth of a society.