Summary of Victor Davis Hanson’s The Dying Citizen

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview:The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America  (2021) aims to reveal destructive forces and harmful beliefs that are eroding American citizenship. Conservative author Victor Davis Hanson argues that American citizenship — a 233-year-old ideal capable of transcending its birth and fully integrating women and people of color into the political commonwealth — is being undermined by both those ignorant of the Constitution and those who think they completely understand it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Feb 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669345466

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Summary of Victor Davis Hanson’s The Dying Citizen

Overview

The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America  (2021) aims to reveal destructive forces and harmful beliefs that are eroding American citizenship. Conservative author Victor Davis Hanson argues that American citizenship — a 233-year-old ideal capable of transcending its birth and fully integrating women and people of color into the political commonwealth — is being undermined by both those ignorant of the Constitution and those who think they completely understand it.

Those ignorant of the Constitution are unaware of the negative effects of radical demographic, cultural, or political influences on citizenship. They don't care about history and tradition, or the civic responsibility of being an American. On the other hand, those too intimate with the Constitution believe it needs adjustments to keep up with the times. They want a constantly evolving Constitution that can act as a global model for a worldwide brotherhood.

What It Means to Be a Citizen

Nowadays, only slightly more than 50 percent of the world's population live under fully consensual governments and enjoy freedoms protected by the law. They are almost all Westerners, or at the very least, live in westernized countries.

A citizen, according to German philosopher Immanuel Kant, is someone who enjoys lawful freedom. In other words, citizens obey the laws to which they have consented.

When it comes to the modern American experience, a free, equal, and politically autonomous citizenry implies that citizens of the United States should follow the laws passed by their own elected representatives. Yet members of Congress and presidents are servants and not masters of the people. They cannot impose their will on an American. American citizens have God-given rights and only they are responsible for their own choices and actions.

In exchange for their freedom to choose their own leaders and establish their own laws, Americans must respect their country's traditions and values.