The Rise of Citizenship and Rights Post the Advent of Enlightenment

Abstract

Capitalism is essentially an unequal system dividing the society into the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. It is today seen as the greatest challenge to realizing the basic human right of equality. However if we trace the history of capitalism, it emerged as a result of a revolt against the feudal system and the inequality perpetuated by that system. Further, simultaneous to the development of capitalism was the development of modern citizenship and democratic rights - at least in the country where capitalism first originated i.e. England. The aim of the paper is to analyse how a system which itself was a mark of revolt against oppression and which led to the development of rights has become the greatest perpetrator of oppression and greatest threat to human rights. The paper begins with a brief history of the rise of citizenship followed by that of capitalism as a response to feudalism. Through T H Marshall's "Citizenship and Social Class" the paper tries to analyse the contradiction between the rise of citizenship and capitalism and then goes on to discuss the future of citizenship in the current neo-liberal capitalist society.