TEXT B The liberal view of
democratic citizenship that developed in the 17th and 18th
centuries was fundamentally different from that of the classical Greeks. The
pursuit of private interests with as little interference as possible from
government was seen as the road to human happiness and progress rather than the
public obligations and involvement in the collective community that were
emphasized by the Greeks. Freedom was to be realized by limiting the scope of
governmental activity and political obligation and not through immersion in the
collective life of the polls. The basic role of the citizen was to select
governmental leaders and keep the powers and scope of public authority in check.
On the liberal view, the rights of citizens against the state were the focus of
special emphasis. Over time, the liberal democratic notion of
citizenship developed in two directions. First, there was a movement to increase
the proportion of members of society who were eligible to participate as
citizens--especially through extending the right of suffrage--and to ensure the
basic political equality of all. Second, there was a broadening of the
legitimate activities of government and a use of governmental power to redress
imbalances in social and economic life. Political citizenship became an
instrument through which groups and classes with sufficient numbers of votes
could use the state power to enhance their social and economic
well-being. Within the general liberal view of democratic
citizenship, tensions have developed over the degree to which government can and
should be used as an instrument for promoting happiness and well-being.
Political philosopher Martin Diamond has categorized two views of democracy as
follows. On the one hand, there is the "libertarian" perspective that stresses
the private pursuit of happiness and emphasizes the "task of the government to
uplift and aid the common man against the malefactors of great wealth." The
tensions between these two views are very evident today. Taxpayer revolts and
calls for smaller government and less government regulation clash with demands
for greater government involvement in the economic marketplace and the social
sphere. It can be inferred from the passage that the Greek word polis means ______.
A．family life B．military service C．marriage D．political community