What does it mean to exist as a “citizen”? A citizen of where, exactly? We are only told to identify as a citizen of a nation-state (in the context of empire), and we are reduced into so many other flattening categories conducive to the growth of oppressive systems (“consumers”, “voters”, and other labels that amputate our role in the world and leave us only as captured participants in abusive systems). Can we simultaneously exist as citizens of empire, of our smaller communities, and the living world?
Recommended resources for this EcoGathering:
1. Nissa Coit: The Good Citizen
2. Jon Alexander: Citizens not Consumers or Subjects
3. Political Philosophy with Dr. Laurie Johnson: Who is a Citizen?