2. 外语
  3. The liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that o

The liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that o

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问题    The liberal view of democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th centuries was fundamentally different from that of the classical Greeks. The pursuit of private interests with as little interference as possible from government was seen as the road to human happiness and progress rather than the public obligations and involvement in the collective community that were emphasized by the Greeks. Freedom was to be realized by limiting the scope of governmental activity and political obligation and not through immersion in the collective life of the polls. The basic role of the citizen was to select governmental leaders and keep the powers and scope of public authority in check. On the liberal view, the rights of citizens against the state were the focus of special emphasis.
   Over time, the liberal democratic notion of citizenship developed in two directions. First, there was a movement to increase the proportion of members of society who were eligible to participate as citizens--especially through extending the right of suffrage--and to ensure the basic political equality of all. Second, there was a broadening of the legitimate activities of government and a use of governmental power to redress imbalances in social and economic life. Political citizenship became an instrument through which groups and classes with sufficient numbers of votes could use the state power to enhance their social and economic well-being.
   Within the general liberal view of democratic citizenship, tensions have developed over the degree to which government can and should be used as an instrument for promoting happiness and well-being. Political philosopher Martin Diamond has categorized two views of democracy as follows. On the one hand, there is the "libertarian" perspective that stresses the private pursuit of happiness and emphasizes the "task of the government to uplift and aid the common man against the malefactors of great wealth." The tensions between these two views are very evident today. Taxpayer revolts and calls for smaller government and less government regulation clash with demands for greater government involvement in the economic marketplace and the social sphere.
The author’s primary purpose is to ______.
选项 A、study ancient concepts of citizenship
B、contrast different notions of citizenship
C、criticize modern libertarian democracy
D、describe the importance of universal suffrage
答案B
解析 这是一道主旨题。文章的作者主要讨论了政府与市民的三种不同的概念：classical Greek，libertarian and majoritarian，罗列了它们之间的主要认识差异。B的内容最能表达文章的精神。A是错的。尽管它提及了古希腊，但这不是文章的全部。C的内容与文章不同，本文客观地分析了modern libertarian democracy的内容，但并未持反对态度。D也是错的。与A一样，尽管文章内提到了suffrage，但它不是重点。
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