ABSTRACT
Citizenship has been studied from almost every standpoint except that of participation in public policy. Modern democratic theorists stress that citizens hold some power because elites must compete for citizens' favor. To register preferences properly would require constant referenda, which would weaken government without improving representation for even the most wary citizen. The bad reputation of citizen participation in public life is deserved. Citizenship is not only about allegiance to government but also about moral development, that is, enhancing capacity to make choices that take account of other people's preferences. If the citizen-analyst is hemmed in by constraints, with but one available action, there can be no citizenship because there is no choice. The social basis of citizenship is sharing: action taken in awareness of the consequences for others. A counterargument would be that, by polling continuous cross-sections of citizens, primaries facilitate citizen choice.
