T. H. Marshall’s contribution to the study of citizenship in Brazil

Abstract

This essay seeks to explore some aspects of T. H. Marshall’s classic text on citizenship, especially concerning the compatibility between citizenship and inequality. The discussion is grounded in the existence of a possible rationale of the English ruling classes regarding the degree of tolerance toward inequality. From this is derived a formulation of the problem of inequality with regard to the Brazilian ruling classes. Taking the English case as a reference, how could the same question concerning Brazil be formulated? Key words: Citizenship; Inequality; Nation; T. H. Marshall.