Citizenship and Civil Society: A Framework of Rights and Obligations in Liberal, Traditional, and Social Democratic Regimes

Rights and obligations are confusing. When people really want or need something they call it a right. Can they simply attach this word to anything they want? Can people disregard obligations with impunity? This book argues that they can not. Rights and obligations are systematically related in important ways backed by the state. One must understand those relationships in specific ways to know what can or cannot be done with rights and obligations in public discourse and politics. They must create a web of interaction among citizens so that more long term social investments may be made.