The conception of citizenship is a detrimental pillar in the foundations of society and the way we as people live together. The belief of a common conception of citizenship is what allows people to coexist, to be employed and earn money; be part of a financial system. However, as all individual people are different in many ways, not all people believe in the same ideals and fundamentals as to what it means to be a citizen, what it means to be a functioning member of society.
The differentials in these views and morals are reflected into the political ideologies of our nations political system and government. Each of these ideologies conceive different conceptions and ideas about what citizenship is and what it should be. This evaluation will be focusing on two grossly supported ideologies, those of Conservatism and those of Liberalism.
Conservatism ideals toward citizenship dictate that it should not be seen as a label of rights and protections, rather the meaning of citizenship entails an obligation to become a working member of society, contributing to beneficial aspects of a society such as employment, consumer retail, contributing to taxes and contributing to economic growth.
The liberalism tradition regards the citizen as an individual who upholds the right to protection of the state from violence perpetrated by other persons and is inclusively safeguarded against the powers of the state by fundamental rights. (Locke 1690, 1980, Rawls
1993). The Liberalism ideology tends to focus less on the consumerism and economic prosperity of citizenship, as compared to Conservatism. Liberalism focus' more on the rights of the individuals as individual citizens.
Although both ideologies share varying standpoints, we as a democracy and as citizens need to coexist, regardless of whether our beliefs differ.
Conservatism is a social and political philosophy that supports retaining