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main page contents current events random article about wikipedia contact us contribute help learn to edit community portal recent changes upload file special pages search search appearance donate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 in republics toggle in republics subsection 1 1 in ancient greece and rome 1 2 during the medieval age and the renaissance 1 3 during the enlightenment 1 4 in the republican revolutions of the 18th century 1 5 19th to mid 20th century 1 6 in later times 2 comparable ideas in non western societies 3 related concepts 4 see also 5 footnotes 6 bibliography toggle the table of contents civic virtue 12 languages български català español euskara français हिन्दी latviešu português română русский simple english 中文 edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia this article has multiple issues please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page learn how and when to remove these messages the template below cite check is being considered for merging with verify sources see templates for discussion to help reach a consensus this article contains citations that may not verify the text please help improve it by checking for citation inaccuracies and resourcing or removing material failing verification july 2026 learn how and when to remove this message this article needs more citations please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources unsourced material may be challenged and removed find sources civic virtue news newspapers books scholar jstor july 2026 learn how and when to remove this message this article may need to be rewritten to comply with wikipedia s quality standards as this article features sweeping generalisations with few quality citations relevant discussion may be found on the talk page you can help the talk page may contain suggestions july 2026 learn how and when to remove this message set of moral qualities that promote the common good this article is about the concept for the sculpture in new york see civic virtue jacques louis david s 1786 painting the oath of the horatii illustrating a dramatic moment from livy s history of rome embodies 18th century ideas about civic virtue civic virtue is a concept that refers to the set of habits values and attitudes that promote the general welfare and the effective functioning of a society closely linked to the concept of citizenship civic virtue virtus represents therefore the disposition of citizens to put the common good bonum commune before special interests the identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue has been a major concern of political philosophy the term civility refers to behavior between persons and groups that conforms to a social mode that is in accordance with the civil society as itself being a foundation of society and law in republics edit civic virtues are historically taught as a matter of chief concern in nations under republican forms of government and societies with cities when final decisions on public matters are made by a monarch it is the monarch s virtues which influence those decisions when a broader class of people become the decision makers it is then their virtues which characterize the types of decisions made this form of decision making is considered superior in determining what best protects the interests of the majority aristocratic oligarchies may also develop traditions of public lists of virtues they believe appropriate in the governing class but these virtues differ from the general civic virtues for example ruling class virtues stress martial courage over commercial honesty constitutions became important in defining the public virtue of republics and constitutional monarchies the earliest forms of constitutional development can be seen in late medieval germany see communalism before 1800 and in the dutch and english revolts of the 16th and 17th centuries in ancient greece and rome edit part of the politics series on republicanism concepts anti monarchism anti corruption civic virtue civil society consent of the governed democracy democratization liberty as non domination mixed government political representation popular sovereignty public participation republic res publica rule of law self governance separation of powers social contract social equality schools gaullism jeffersonian democracy kantianism kemalism khomeinism nasserism venizelism types autonomous capitalist christian classical democratic directorial system federal federal council imperial islamic maritime modern parliamentary peasant people s revolutionary secular sister socialist philosophers adams john arendt baggini bello bentham berlin bodin cattaneo chappell cicero condorcet crick franklin harrington honderich jefferson kant locke machiavelli madison marx mazzini mill montesquieu paine pettit polybius rousseau sandel sidney skinner quentin sunstein tocqueville warburton wollstonecraft politicians adams gerry adams john ashton atatürk azaña bartley benn bennett bolívar chapman clark katy clarke tom connolly cromwell davidson de gaulle de valera drakeford etherington fabiani ferguson flynn paul flynn stephen foot gambetta garibaldi grévy griffith griffiths harvie hatton hébert hopkins huppert iorwerth jackson jay jefferson jones elin jones lynne juárez kane khomeini la malfa lenin lewis lincoln lucas mackay mackenzie madison magid manley mannin mcdonnell mckechin mottley mullin nandy naysmith nehru papineau pound prescott ritchie robespierre sayed sillars singh skates skinner dennis slater slaughter smith spadolini stuart sun taverne venizelos washington whitlam wilson wood theoretical works republic c 375 bc de re publica 54 51 bc discourses on livy 1531 the tenure of kings and magistrates 1649 the commonwealth of oceana 1656 discourses concerning government 1698 the spirit of law 1748 discourse on inequality 1755 the social contract 1762 the federalist papers 1787 1788 rights of man 1791 perpetual peace a philosophical sketch 1794 democracy in america 1835 1840 on revolution 1963 history roman republic gaṇasaṅgha classical athens republic of venice republic of genoa republic of florence dutch republic american revolution french revolution spanish american wars of independence trienio liberal french revolution of 1848 proclamation of the republic 5 october 1910 revolution chinese revolution russian revolution german revolution of 1918 1919 turkish war of independence mongolian revolution of 1921 11 september 1922 revolution 1935 greek coup attempt spanish civil war 1944 icelandic constitutional referendum 1946 italian institutional referendum egyptian revolution of 1952 14 july revolution 1960 south african republic referendum north yemen civil war zanzibar revolution 1969 libyan revolution 1970 cambodian coup d état metapolitefsi 1974 greek republic referendum iranian revolution 1987 fijian coups d état 1993 brazilian constitutional referendum nepalese civil war barbadian republic proclamation national variants antigua and barbuda australia bahamas barbados canada ireland jamaica japan morocco netherlands new zealand norway spain catalonia sweden united kingdom scotland wales united states republic days armenia azerbaijan china iceland india iran italy kazakhstan malta moldova nepal niger north korea north macedonia pakistan philippines taiwan turkey related topics classical radicalism common good communitarianism consul criticism of monarchy egalitarianism the emperor s new clothes jacobinism liberalism list of monarchy referendums list of republics monarchism peasant republic primus inter pares republic without republicans republican empire republican party politics portal v t e see also arete moral virtue and virtus virtue in the classical culture of europe and those places that follow its political tradition concern for civic virtue starts with the oldest republics of which we have extensive records athens and rome attempting to define the virtues needed to successfully govern the athenian polis was a matter of significant concern for socrates and plato a difference in civic vision ultimately was one of the factors that led to the trial of socrates and his conflict with the athenian democracy the politics of aristotle viewed citizenship as consisting not of political rights but rather of political duties citizens were expected to put their private lives and interests aside and serve the state in accordance with duties defined by law rome even more than greece produced a number of moralistic philosophers such as cicero and moralistic historians such as tacitus sallust plutarch and livy many of these figures were either personally involved in power struggles that took place in the late roman republic or wrote elegies to liberty which was lost during their transition to the roman empire they tended to blame this loss of liberty on the perceived lack of civic virtue in their contemporaries contrasting them with idealistic examples of virtue drawn from roman history and even non roman barbarians during the medieval age and the renaissance edit texts of antiquity became very popular by the renaissance scholars tried to gather as many of them as they could find especially in monasteries from constantinople and from the muslim world aided by the rediscovery of the virtue ethics and metaphysics of aristotle by avicenna and averroes thomas aquinas fused aristotle s cardinal virtues with christianity in his summa theologica 1273 humanists wanted to reinstate the ancient ideal of civic virtue through education instead of punishing sinners it was believed that sin could be prevented by raising virtuous children living in the city became important for the elite because people in the city are forced to behave themselves when communicating with others a problem was that the proletarianization of peasants created an environment in cities where such workers were hard to control cities tried to keep the proletarians out or tried to civilize them by forcing them to work in poor houses important aspects of civic virtue were civic conversation listening to others trying to reach an agreement keeping yourself informed so you can have a relevant contribution civilized behavior decent clothing accent containing feelings and needs work people had to make a useful contribution to the society religion changed it became more focused on individual behavior instead of a communion of people the people who believed in civic virtue belonged to a small majority surrounded by barbarity parental authority was popular especially the authority of the monarch and the state 1 improper synthesis during the enlightenment edit civic virtue was very popular during the enlightenment but it had changed dramatically parental authority began to wane freedom became popular but people can only be free by containing their emotions in order to keep some space for others trying to keep proletarians out or putting them in a poor house was not done anymore the focus was now on educating work was an important virtue during the middle ages and the renaissance but the people who worked were treated with contempt by the non working elite the 18th century brought an end to this the advancing rich merchants class emphasized the importance of work and contributing to society for all people including the elite science was popular the government and the elites tried to change the world and humanity positively by expanding the bureaucracy leading thinkers thought that education and the breach of barriers would liberate everybody from stupidity and oppression civic conversations were held in societies and scientific journals 2 in the republican revolutions of the 18th century edit civic virtue also became a matter of public interest and discussion during the 18th century in part because of the american revolutionary war an anecdote first published in 1906 has benjamin franklin answer a woman who asked him well doctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy he responded a republic if you can keep it 3 the current use for this quotation is to bolster with franklin s authority the opinion that republics require the cultivation of specific political beliefs interests and habits among their citizens and that if those habits are not cultivated they are in danger of falling back into some sort of authoritarian rule such as a monarchy american historian gordon s wood called it a universal 18th century assumption that while no form of government was more beautiful than a republic monarchies had various advantages the pomp and circumstances surrounding them cultivated a sense that the rulers were in fact superior to the ruled and entitled to their obedience and maintained order by their presence by contrast in a republic the rulers were the servants of the public and there could therefore be no sustained coercion from them laws had to be obeyed for the sake of conscience rather than fear of the ruler s wrath in a monarchy people might be restrained by force to submit their own interest to their government s in a republic by contrast people must be persuaded to submit their own interests to the government and this voluntary submission constituted the 18th century s notion of civic virtue in the absence of such persuasion the authority of the government would collapse and tyranny or anarchy were imminent authority for this ideal was found once more among the classical and especially the roman political authors and historians but since the roman writers wrote during a time when the roman republican ideal was fading away its forms but not its spirit or substance being preserved in the roman empire the 18th century american and french revolutionaries read them with a spirit to determine how the roman republic failed and how to avoid repeating that failure in his reflections on the rise and fall of the antient republicks the english whig historian edward wortley montagu sought to describe the principal causes of that degeneracy of manners which reduc d those once brave and free people into the most abject slavery following this reading of roman ideals the american revolutionary charles lee envisioned a spartan egalitarian society where every man was a soldier and master of his own land and where people were instructed from early infancy to deem themselves property of the state and were ever ready to sacrifice their concerns to her interests the agrarianism of thomas jefferson represents a similar belief system jefferson believed that the ideal republic was composed of independent rural agriculturalists rather than urban tradesm...
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