<P> The liberal - individualist conception of citizenship, or sometimes merely the liberal conception, has a concern that the individual's status may be undermined by government . The perspective suggests a language of "needs" and "entitlements" necessary for human dignity and is based on reason for the pursuit of self - interest or more accurately as enlightened self - interest . The conception suggests a focus on the manufacture of material things as well as man's economic vitality, with society seen as a "market - based association of competitive individuals ." From this view, citizens are sovereign, morally autonomous beings with duties to pay taxes, obey the law, engage in business transactions, and defend the nation if it comes under attack, but are essentially passive politically . This conception of citizenship has sometimes been termed conservative in the sense that passive citizens want to conserve their private interests, and that private people have a right to be left alone . This formulation of citizenship was expressed somewhat in the philosophy of John Rawls, who believed that every person in a society has an "equal right to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic rights and liberties" and that society has an obligation to try to benefit the "least advantaged members of society". But this sense of citizenship has been criticized; according to one view, it can lead to a "culture of subjects" with a "degeneration of public spirit" since economic man, or homo economicus, is too focused on material pursuits to engage in civic activity to be true citizens . </P> <P> A competing vision is that democratic citizenship may be founded on a "culture of participation". This orientation has sometimes been termed the civic - republican or classical conception of citizenship since it focuses on the importance of people practicing citizenship actively and finding places to do this . Unlike the liberal - individualist conception, the civic - republican conception emphasizes man's political nature, and sees citizenship as an active, not passive, activity . A general problem with this conception, according to critics, is that if this model is implemented, it may bring about other issues such as the free rider problem in which some people neglect basic citizenship duties and consequently get a free ride supported by the citizenship efforts of others . This view emphasizes the democratic participation inherent in citizenship, and can "channel legitimate frustrations and grievances" and bring people together to focus on matters of common concern and lead to a politics of empowerment, according to theorist Dora Kostakopoulou . Like the liberal - individualist conception, it is concerned about government running roughshod over individuals, but unlike the liberal - individualist conception, it is relatively more concerned that government will interfere with popular places to practice citizenship in the public sphere, rather than take away or lessen particular citizenship rights . This sense of citizenship has been described as "active and public citizenship", and has sometimes been called a "revolutionary idea". According to one view, most people today live as citizens according to the liberal - individualist conception but wished they lived more according to the civic - republican ideal . </P> <P> The subject of citizenship, including political discussions about what exactly the term describes, can be a battleground for ideological debates . In Canada, citizenship and related issues such as civic education are "hotly contested ." There continues to be sentiment within the academic community that trying to define one "unitary theory of citizenship" which would describe citizenship in every society, or even in any one society, would be a meaningless exercise . Citizenship has been described as "multi-layered belongings"--different attachments, different bonds and allegiances . This is the view of Hebert & Wilkinson who suggest there is not one single perspective on citizenship but "multiple citizenship" relations since each person belongs to many different groups which define him or her . </P> <P> Sociologist Michael Schudson examined changing patterns of citizenship in US history and suggested there were four basic periods: </P>

The responsibility of a roman male during the republic was to become a citizen-soldier