Should dogs be citizens? It’s not as crazy as you think.

[Wilikon]

What if domestic animals — pets such as dogs and cats as well livestock like cows and chickens — were granted citizenship rights? That may sound like a crazy question, but Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka thinks it’s a critically important one.

Kymlicka, a professor at Queen’s University, is a well-regarded figure in modern political philosophy. He’s also the author, along with writer Sue Donaldson, of Zoopolis, a book making the case for animal citizenship. Their basic premise is simple: animals are already part of our society, as pets and work animals, therefore we should formally recognize them as such.

That’s not just a head-in-the-clouds thought experiment. We already have basic laws forbidding animal abuse and regulating industrial slaughterhouses. But, as anyone who has visited an animal shelter or thought about the ethics of what they eat can attest, we as a society have not come anywhere close to solving the problem of animal mistreatment. If we really want to improve animals’ lives, Kymlicka and Donaldson argue, we need to stop thinking in terms of merely treating animals better. Rather, we need to acknowledge on a fundamental level that animals are a part of society and deserve to be treated as such. That leads you, however improbable it might sound, to citizenship.

http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7385269/animal-citizenship-kymlicka



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And that is why, Ladies & Gents, I love the liberal mind... 

[pedrog]

That's impressive, thanks for sharing.

I do believe the next big leap in human morality will be the way we understand and treat other sentient beings.

[u9y42]

That's impressive, thanks for sharing.

I do believe the next big leap in human morality will be the way we understand and treat other sentient beings.

Not that I disagree with you, but judging by how we misunderstand and mistreat each other - often for completely stupid reasons - we still have a long way to go before that next leap.

[TheButterZone]

Euthanasia is legal for animals, but not for consenting humans in most jurisdictions...

[pedrog]

That's impressive, thanks for sharing.

I do believe the next big leap in human morality will be the way we understand and treat other sentient beings.

Not that I disagree with you, but judging by how we misunderstand and mistreat each other - often for completely stupid reasons - we still have a long way to go before that next leap.

Indeed we do.

[TECSHARE]

Don't get me wrong, I think life should be protected and animals should not mistreated, but this just reeks to me as warm and fuzzy anti-human propaganda. People care more for animals than they do humans, and it is kind of sick IMO. Not that animals don't deserve to be cared for, but FFS. When you start doing things like this humans end up suffering for layers of bureaucracy that end up doing more harm than good, especially when there is no "victim" to speak , only a state interested in revenue collection. Some of the people I know who are the most fierce defenders of animal rights also have a corresponding lack of respect for the well being of humans.

[Elwar]

Once dogs prove they are a force to be reckoned with, they will be given citizenship in order to keep them under control.

[Agestorzrxx]

This is ridiculous. 

[BADecker]

This is ridiculous.  

No it's not.

Dogs should, and government workers should, be the only 14th Amendment citizens that there are. The rest of us should be WE THE PEOPLE who control government to do our bidding, even to the extent that each of us can (individually if necessary) require government to get lost.

[Ingatqhvq]

This is ridiculous.  

No it's not.

Dogs should, and government workers should, be the only 14th Amendment citizens that there are. The rest of us should be WE THE PEOPLE who control government to do our bidding, even to the extent that each of us can (individually if necessary) require government to get lost.

Doge can't take any responsibility.
That the reason why doge can't be citizens.
BTW, doge is a delicious food in China.

[CIYAM]

BTW, doge is a delicious food in China.

It is less and less popular for Chinese to eat dog (or cat) meat these days as Chinese are actually very keen pet owners - so although some (generally small non-chain) restaurants still have such "fragrant meat" (as it is often referred to) dishes they are most definitely on the decline.

Very few large chain restaurants (which are considered "upscale restaurants" in China) have dog or cat meat on their menus now.

Oh - and how do I know this? I have lived in China for 8 years (and resided in various different cities).

[Snail2]

As most dogs and cats are living according to the conservative values and they are used to be more intelligent than an average leftist/liberal voter, I don't see any reason why not .

[Elwar]

As most dogs and cats are living according to the conservative values and they are used to be more intelligent than an average leftist/liberal voter, I don't see any reason why not .

Dogs are pro gay marriage.

[Wilikon]

As most dogs and cats are living according to the conservative values and they are used to be more intelligent than an average leftist/liberal voter, I don't see any reason why not .

Dogs are pro gay marriage.

... For dogs to be able to lick their own penis on regular basis is not proof they are for or against gay marriage... 

[HeroCat]

Then may be other animals can also be citizens  For example cats 

[pattu1]

This lends a whole new meaning to the phrase "This country has gone to the dogs". 

[Ingatqhvq]

BTW, doge is a delicious food in China.

It is less and less popular for Chinese to eat dog (or cat) meat these days as Chinese are actually very keen pet owners - so although some (generally small non-chain) restaurants still have such "fragrant meat" (as it is often referred to) dishes they are most definitely on the decline.

Very few large chain restaurants (which are considered "upscale restaurants" in China) have dog or cat meat on their menus now.

Oh - and how do I know this? I have lived in China for 8 years (and resided in various different cities).

No, nothing changed.
Dog meat is still very popular in the countryside where is the main consumption area.

[CIYAM]

No, nothing changed.

From direct personal experience I can attest that dog meat used to be far more widely consumed in major cities in China years back.

Next time perhaps don't make a sweeping generalisation (as now you are changing your words to focus on the countryside perhaps you could explain how it is that you know so much about the eating preferences of the "nong min" - do you spend a lot of time visiting countryside areas of China?).

[ObscureBean]

Don't get me wrong, I think life should be protected and animals should not mistreated, but this just reeks to me as warm and fuzzy anti-human propaganda. People care more for animals than they do humans, and it is kind of sick IMO. Not that animals don't deserve to be cared for, but FFS. When you start doing things like this humans end up suffering for layers of bureaucracy that end up doing more harm than good, especially when there is no "victim" to speak , only a state interested in revenue collection. Some of the people I know who are the most fierce defenders of animal rights also have a corresponding lack of respect for the well being of humans.

Did you know that you can fit the entire human population of ~7 billion on the Isle of Man (I know, befitting right?  ) which is only 221 sq miles?
This should give you an idea of how much space is being wasted right now. I wonder if you'd feel different about animal rights if someday an all-powerful alien race were to take over the earth and treat humans exactly the same as the rest of the animals, completely ignoring their much lauded intellectual capacity.

[youngmike]

Doge should be citizen because real world purposes to the moon it can replace both fiat and citizens so crypto currency is the future