The Common Good

By Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez

Commenting on the many economic and social problems that American society now confronts,
Newsweek columnist Robert J. Samuelson recently wrote: "We face a choice between a society
where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where
groups selfishly protect their own benefits." Newsweek is not the only voice calling for a
recognition of and commitment to the "common good." Daniel Callahan, an expert on bioethics,
argues that solving the current crisis in our health care system — rapidly rising costs and
dwindling access — requires replacing the current "ethic of individual rights" with an "ethic of the
common good."
Appeals to the common good have also surfaced in discussions of business' social
responsibilities, discussions of environmental pollution, discussions of our lack of investment in
education, and discussions of the problems of crime and poverty. Everywhere, it seems, social
commentators are claiming that our most fundamental social problems grow out of a
widespread lack of commitment to the common good, coupled with an equally widespread
pursuit of individual interests.
What exactly is "the common good," and why has it come to have such a critical place in current
discussions of problems in our society? The common good is a notion that originated over two
thousand years ago in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. More recently, the
contemporary ethicist, John Rawls, defined the common good as "certain general conditions
that are . . . equally to everyone's advantage." The Catholic religious tradition, which has a long
history of struggling to define and promote the common good, defines it as "the sum of those
conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively
thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment." The common good, then, consists primarily
of having the social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all depend work in a
manner that benefits all people. Examples of particular common goods or parts of the common
good include an accessible and affordable public health care system, an effective system of
public safety and security, peace among the nations of the world, a just legal and political
system, an unpolluted natural environment, and a flourishing economic system. Because such
systems, institutions, and environments have such a powerful impact on the well-being of
members of, society, it is no surprise that virtually every social problem in one way or another is
linked to how well tines systems and institutions are functioning.
As these examples suggest, the common good doe not just happen. Establishing and
maintaining the common good requires the cooperative efforts of some, often of many, people.
Just as keeping a park free of litter depends on each user picking up after himself, so also
maintaining the social conditions from which we all benefit requires the cooperative efforts of
citizens. But these efforts pay off, for the common good is a good to which all members of
society have access, and from whose enjoyment no one can be easily excluded. All persons for
example, enjoy the benefits of clean air or an unpolluted environment, or any of our society's
other common goods. In fact, something counts as a common good only to the extent that it is a
good to which all have access.
It might seem that since all citizens benefit from the common good, we would all willingly
respond to urgings that we each cooperate to establish and maintain the common good. But
numerous observers have identified a number of obstacles that hinder us, as a society, from
successfully doing so.
First, according to some philosophers, the very idea of a common good is inconsistent with a
pluralistic society like ours. Different people have different ideas abut what is worthwhile or what
constitutes "the good life for human beings," differences that have increased during the last few
decades as the voices of more and more previously silenced groups, such as women and
minorities have been heard. Given these differences, some people urge, it will be impossible for
us to agree on what particular kind of social systems, institutions, and environment we will all
pitch in to support. And even if we agree upon what we all valued, we would certainly disagree
about the relative values things have for us. While a may agree, for example, that an affordable
health system a healthy educational system, and a clean environment are all parts of the
common good, some will say the, more should be invested in health than in education, while
others will favor directing resources to the environment over both health and education. Such
disagreements are bound to undercut our ability to evoke a sustained and widespread
commitment to the common good. In the face of such pluralism, efforts to bring about the
common good can only lead to adopting or promoting the views of some, while excluding
others, violating the principle of treating people equally. Moreover, such efforts would force
everyone to support some specific notion of the common good, violating the freedom of those
who do not share in that goal, and inevitably leading to paternalism (imposing one group's
preference on others), tyranny, and oppression.
A second problem encountered by proponents of the common good is what is sometimes called
the "freerider problem." The benefits that a common good provides are, as we noted, available
to everyone, including those who choose not to do their part to maintain the common good.
Individuals can become "free riders" by taking the benefits the common good provides while
refusing to do their part to support the common good. An adequate water supply, for example, is
a common good from which all people benefit. But to maintain an adequate supply of water
during a drought, people must conserve water, which entails sacrifices. Some individuals may
be reluctant to do their share, however, since they know that so long as enough other people
conserve, they can enjoy the benefits without reducing their own consumption. If enough people
become free riders in this way, the common good which depends on their support will be
destroyed. Many observers believe that this is exactly what has happened to many of our
common goods, such as the environment or education, where the reluctance of all persons to
support efforts to maintain the health of these systems has led to their virtual collapse.
The third problem encountered by attempts to promote the common good is that of
individualism. Our historical traditions place a high value on individual freedom, on personal
rights, and on allowing each person to "do her own thing." Our culture views society as
comprised of separate independent individuals who are free to pursue their own individual goals
and interests without interference from others. In this individualistic culture it is difficult, perhaps
impossible, to convince people that they should sacrifice some of their freedom, some of their
personal goals, and some of their self-interest, for the sake of the "common good." Our cultural
traditions, in fact, reinforce the individual who thinks that she should not have to contribute to
the community's common good, but should be left free to pursue her own personal ends.
Finally, appeals to the common good are confronted by the problem of an unequal sharing of
burdens. Maintaining a common good often requires that particular individuals or particular
groups bear costs that are much greater than those borne by others. Maintaining an unpolluted
environment, for example, may require that particular firms that pollute install costly pollution
control devices, undercutting profits. Making employment opportunities more equal may require
that some groups, such as white males, sacrifice their own employment chances. Making the
health system affordable and accessible to all may require that insurers accept lower premiums,
that physicians accept lower salaries, or that those with particularly costly diseases or conditions
forego the medical treatment on which their lives depend. Forcing particular groups or
individuals to carry such unequal burdens "for the sake of the common good," is, at least
arguably, unjust. Moreover, the prospect of having to carry such heavy and unequal burdens
leads such groups and individuals to resist any attempts to secure common goods.
All of these problems pose considerable obstacles to those who call for an ethic of the common
good. Still, appeals to the common good ought not to be dismissed. For they urge us to reflect
on broad questions concerning the kind of society we want to become and how we are to
achieve that society. They also challenge us to view ourselves as members of the same
community and, while respecting and valuing the freedom of individuals to pursue their own
goals, to recognize and further those goals we share in common.
"The common good is the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and
their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment."
--Vatican Council II

EXPLANATION:

This online news article promotes this following: The concept of the common good dates back
over two thousand years, to Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero's writings. More recently, John Rawls, a
contemporary ethicist, defined the common good as "certain generic circumstances that are
equally beneficial to everyone." The Catholic religious tradition, which has a long history of
grappling with how to define and promote the common good, and it defines as the sum of social
conditions that allow social groups and their individual members relatively easy and full access
to their own fulfillment." The common good, then, is primarily concerned with ensuring that the
social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all rely function in ways that benefit
everyone. An accessible and inexpensive public health care system, an effective system of
public safety and security, world peace, a just legal and political system, an unpolluted natural
environment, and a flourishing economic system are examples of specific common goods or
aspects of the common good. And talks of business' social obligations, questions of
environmental degradation, issues of our lack of investment in education, and discussions of
crime and poverty have all brought up the common good. Societal pundits appear to be claiming
that our most fundamental social problems stem from a general lack of commitment to the
common good everywhere.