Democratic governance needs those under its jurisdiction to have a strong enough sense of togetherness to support and accept collective decisions that will be binding on everyone. We have seen that this requires the cultivation of shared missions and the development of mutual respect among those involved. One further factor that must be taken into account is the need for coherent membership. Any group – a local association, a business, a country – must have a coherent approach to managing its membership if it is not to lose its core capacity to function as a governable entity. In this chapter, we will look at why certain membership issues must be properly dealt with if democracy is to work, what problems may follow if various misguided ideas on group membership are allowed to take hold, and how coherent membership can be more effectively sustained.

Why democracy needs coherent membership

For any group of people to get along – as neighbours, co-workers, or fellow citizens – they must understand what counts as being a member of that group, and what that entails in terms of membership benefits and responsibilities. Without that foundational understanding, it could be problematic for people to govern themselves when they are uncertain what ‘they’ are.

Group membership is inherently bound up with a sense of belonging. The laissez-faire view of group membership ignores the fact that membership choices are often limited, and the associated terms may not always be satisfactory. Although the question of membership of a country has received considerable attention in relation to the issue of immigration, the decline of stable identity among many people is connected with other changes ranging from insecurity as a worker in a business organisation, to uncertainty as a resident in areas that are either not fit to live in or too expensive for one's children to afford to set up home.

Human identity and the corresponding level of self-worth are derived from people's relationships with others in groups they consider important to them (Bellah et al, 1996). How they are regarded, valued, and accepted in those groups shape their perception of who they are, particularly how they see their place in the world. The different groups matter to them to varying degrees, but each one adds to their overall conception of their role in life.