We would argue that the neo-liberal view
of citizenship is in crisis. Participation in the
market is obviously important and the idea
of the worker-citizen has been a foundational
aspect of modern society. However,
there are clearly problems with this foundation,
especially where there is profound
casualization of labor, under-employment,
early retirement and flexible hours of work.
As Richard Sennett (1998) has argued, the
modern market creates casualized employment
that leads to a ‘corrosion’ of character.
There has also been a widespread devaluation
of education and the university system
by neo-liberal governments that have
reduced funding and attempted to destroy
the autonomy of universities in providing an
education that is not merely training for a
job. The marginalization of the worker and
the degradation of education has resulted in
an erosion of citizenship that we can see
manifested in low participation rates in elections,
distrust of politicians, lack of social
capital investment in society, the decline
of the public sphere, and the decline of the
universities.