Political Maturity

One threshold which theoretically signals the transition to adulthood in our society is acceptance of civic responsibilities and participation in public life. On paper, and in good measure, being an adult means being a citizen. Yet if, as Pedro OIlalla states, “our democracies don’t want true citizens”, is politics really a prerogative of adulthood? In today’s society, are “maturity” and “politics” concepts in their full senses? Does maturity, by some chance, really turn us into democratic citizens? With his two-edged title, “Political Maturity”, Olalla suggests that we should think not only about the desirable situation in which politics reaches maturity but also about the—even more desirable and necessary—condition when our maturity enters into politics.