Does Civic Virtue Matter Any More?

This paper addresses the question whether and how civic virtue - the disposition of citizens to take into account the common good and to participate in politics with that in mind - is to be understood as significant in addressing the environmental crisis of the 21st century. For republicans some account of such civic virtue has generally been as important as the particular understanding of freedom that they advance. but contemporary republicans have difficulty in articulating what civic virtue might be, or shy away from what are seen as its moralistic or paternalistic implications. When we consider the environmental crisis and climate change, the dimension of the problem and the need for systemic and institutional change seem to diminish the significance of civic and environmental consciousness and the dispositions of citizens. How and why civic virtue might be re-articulated by republicans in the light of 21st century concerns, and why it is important to dealing with the environmental crisis will be considered.