"And they understand that to be an effective member of a democracy, you have to accept responsibility"
About this Quote
Effective democracy asks more than opinion and identity; it demands ownership. Rights are vital, but they remain fragile when divorced from the willingness to shoulder their costs and consequences. Responsibility turns freedom from a private indulgence into a public trust. It is the habit of preparing, showing up, deliberating in good faith, accepting outcomes, and then doing the work that follows from the decisions we make together.
Daniel Greenberg, cofounder of the Sudbury Valley School and a leading voice in democratic education, saw this lesson learned not through lectures but through lived practice. In the schools he helped shape, students set rules, allocate resources, hire staff, and adjudicate conflicts. They experience directly that liberty without responsibility corrodes into chaos, and that the authority to choose carries the duty to justify choices, repair harm, and contribute to the community that sustains their freedom. The result is an education in citizenship: not passivity before power, but stewardship of shared life.
To be effective is different from being loud or merely present. It means developing the competence to weigh trade-offs, the patience to engage with people unlike oneself, and the resilience to accept imperfect compromises. Responsibility grounds these virtues. It converts grievance into governance and transforms spectators into citizens. When people accept responsibility, they resist the temptation to outsource blame, and they recognize themselves in the outcomes of the system they inhabit.
Democratic culture frays when rights are claimed without matching obligations. It strengthens when individuals commit to informing themselves, to listening as well as speaking, to enforcing rules they also must obey, and to rebuilding trust after conflict. Greenberg points to a simple but demanding truth: democracy is not something done for us, but something we do, and keep doing, together. Responsibility is the price of admission and the engine of its promise.
Daniel Greenberg, cofounder of the Sudbury Valley School and a leading voice in democratic education, saw this lesson learned not through lectures but through lived practice. In the schools he helped shape, students set rules, allocate resources, hire staff, and adjudicate conflicts. They experience directly that liberty without responsibility corrodes into chaos, and that the authority to choose carries the duty to justify choices, repair harm, and contribute to the community that sustains their freedom. The result is an education in citizenship: not passivity before power, but stewardship of shared life.
To be effective is different from being loud or merely present. It means developing the competence to weigh trade-offs, the patience to engage with people unlike oneself, and the resilience to accept imperfect compromises. Responsibility grounds these virtues. It converts grievance into governance and transforms spectators into citizens. When people accept responsibility, they resist the temptation to outsource blame, and they recognize themselves in the outcomes of the system they inhabit.
Democratic culture frays when rights are claimed without matching obligations. It strengthens when individuals commit to informing themselves, to listening as well as speaking, to enforcing rules they also must obey, and to rebuilding trust after conflict. Greenberg points to a simple but demanding truth: democracy is not something done for us, but something we do, and keep doing, together. Responsibility is the price of admission and the engine of its promise.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
|---|
More Quotes by Daniel
Add to List
