Abstract:
Abstract In this paper an attempt is made to theorise the contemporary notion of the
“ordinary” in contrast to the ancient Greek understanding of citizenship formed in the
context of a perceived division between the private and the public. We begin with
Charles Taylor’s notion of the “affirmation of ordinary life” and theorise it in light of
criticisms of the ordinary by developing the notion of the “ordinary” beyond the negative
implications commonly attributed to it such as, being consumed by consumerism. Here,
an attempt is made to look at the ordinary in a dialectical manner, one that brings out the
ambiguities found in it so as to highlight the pleasures and joys of ordinary life as well as
its constrictions. In the final part of the paper a reading of ancient Greek understanding of
citizenship and public political life is provided as a back drop to a potential reformulation
of our commitments to a public life.
