Citizen vs Consumer

If you think of Americans as consumers, you want to sell them something, if you think of them as citizens, you want to teach them something.
Bill Moyers (paraphrase)
Fresh Air, NPR
May 13, 2004

And there you have the distinction between most Republicans and most of the Left. Republicans and their corporate backers think only in terms of what we can be sold. Whether it's a (New and Improved!) car, a (New and Improved!) environmental policy or a (New and Improved!) war. By and large, liberal thinkers tend to treat Americans as citizens, hence NPR, Public Television and voter registration drives.