Disabled People and the Rights to Social Citizenship Essay

Disabled People and the Rights to Social Citizenship - Essay Example The British government has proffered different definitions of a citizen as components of the various solutions proposed in respect of the extant social, economic and political problems and these solutions have affected the rights of individuals (Young, 1985). The Conservative government under John Major introduced a Citizen's Charter in order to subject public services to market forces. Accordingly, citizens obtained the right to choose. This development in conjunction with privatization was considered to be the panacea for the ills of the inefficient public services. Citizenship can be perceived either by the individualist approach in which the nature of citizenship is determined by individual choice or the structuralist approach in which the determining factors are social and economic in nature. Further, "Choice based theories are exemplified in their purest form by economics. In this world, individuals seek to maximize their utility by obtaining the highest return at the minimum cost from any course of action which they undertake" (Pattie, Seyd and Whiteley, 2004, pp 138-139). Consequently, "Citizenship is a status bestowed on those who are full members of a community. [and who] are equal with respect to the rights and duties with which the status is endowed" (Marshall, 1950, p. 28). These rights are of three kinds civil, political or social. The Civil rights are, "liberty of the person, freedom of speech, thought and faith, the right to own property and to conclude valid contracts, and the right to justice" (Marshall, 1950, p. 10). Political rights comprise of "the right to participate in the exercise of political power" and social rights are "the whole range from the right to a modicum of economic welfare and security to the right to share to the full in the social heritage and to live the life of a civilized being according to the standards prevailing in the society" (Marshall, 1950, p. 11). The absence of the disabled person's perspective in discussions involving citizenship is ubiquitous (Meekosha and Dowse, 1997, pp. 49-72). To achieve equality, disabled citizens need to possess freewill and involvement. Societal impediments rather than the disabling impairment, play havoc with the disabled person's endeavour to be full and equal citizen. Hence, civil society has been defined as "an arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values" (Centre for Civil Society, 2004). In order to provide disabled persons with equal access a modicum of restriction has to be enjoined on the freedom of the non-disabled people. The enactment of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) on the 8th of November 1995 was the culmination of a protracted battle to enforce the rights of the disabled. This enactment led to several measures being adopted in order to prevent discrimination against disabled people and to grant them additional rights Vis - a - Vis employment, purchase and lease of real estate and access to goods, facilities and services. The DDA has empowered