Citizens

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The Citoyen ([ sito̯ajɛː ]; French citoyen to Old French citeain , a derivative form of cité , City ', this from Latin civitas , citizenship', 'state') refers to the citizens or citizens who, in the tradition and spirit of the Enlightenment active and participates independently in the community and helps shape it.

Its self-image is historically based on the values ​​of the French Revolution of freedom , equality , and brotherhood .

One of the first quotations of both the term “citoyen” and “bourgeois” can be found on the map of Paris from 1550 :

«… Puis on voit à planté / D'aultres logis pleins de beaulx edifices / Pour les bourgoeys & citoyens propices. »

"... you can also see executed / Other quarters full of beautiful buildings / For the inclined bourgeois & Citoyens."

The term citoyen for the citizen is to be distinguished from the term bourgeois . These terms and their differentiation were decisively coined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau :

“Le citoyen est un être éminemment politique (la cité) qui exprime non pas son intérêt individuel mais l'intérêt général. Cet intérêt général ne se résume pas à la somme des volontés particulières mais la dépasse. »

“The citizen is a highly political being who does not express his individual interest, but the common interest. This common interest is not limited to the sum of the individual expressions of will, but goes beyond them. "

- Jean-Jacques Rousseau : Le contrat social

In the 6th chapter of the first book of the Contrat Social there is the explanation in connection with the polis and the republic:

“The true sense of this word has almost completely disappeared with the newer; most confuse the city (Ville) and the polis (Cité), townspeople (bourgeois) and citizens (Citoyen). "

This distinction can be found again in Immanuel Kant's work On the Common Proposal: This may be correct in theory, but is not suitable for practice (Weischedel edition Volume 11, 151) or with the business ethicist Peter Ulrich in his Integrative Business Ethics (4th ed ., P. 321).

In France and the occupied countries, the title “Citoyen” replaced the previous salutations Monsieur, Monsieur le Comte, Votre Altesse etc. After Napoléon was proclaimed emperor, this provision was repealed.

See also

literature

  • Volker Caysa (Ed.): In Search of the Citoyen. Berlin / New York / Vienna 1997.

Web links