scholarly journals Recovering the Common Good: The Key to a truly Prosperous Society?

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 319
Author(s):  
Andrew Bradstock
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Common Life ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

This article argues that the common good would have much to contribute to political discourse in New Zealand at the present time. Beginning with a definition of the concept, particularly as it has developed within Catholic Social Teaching, the article examines attempts by New Zealand church leaders to introduce it into public debate in recent decades, and concludes that, were the common good to be given serious consideration today, it would both prompt New Zealanders to look critically at their society and consider the purpose of their common life together, and enhance their quality of life individually and communally. The article addresses the charge that promoting the common good might be seen as favouring one (religiously-inspired) notion of 'the good life' over others, and, following Raymond Plant, suggests that, in a pluralist society, a more appropriate starting point for a conversation about such issues would be an exploration of 'social justice'. The article also explores the extent to which markets and governments might promote the common good.

scholarly journals Nature of the common good as the foundation of the community

2021 ◽  
Vol XIX (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Karol Jasiński
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Common Life ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Third ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Integral Development ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

The subject of interest of the author of the text is the common good as an inalienable element of the organization of the human community. The paper consists of three parts. The first part analyses the need for a common good as the basis of social and political life. The starting point was the distinction of four forms of common life (community, society, political body and state), defining the nature of society, presentation of three forms of relationship between man and society (individualism, collectivism and personalism) and identifying problems related to the definition of the common good. In the second part, the author presented a reflection on the procedural common good in the liberal tradition, the issue of impartiality and identification of the common good in the process of the debate. In the third part, attention is paid to the personalistic view of the common good, which is based on the integral development of personal human nature in the framework of the appropriate institutions and structures. This understanding of the common good is, in the author’s conviction, the best point of reference in social and political life.

What Can Social Science Teach Catholic Social Thought About the Common Good?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Cloutier
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Social Condition ◽  
Alasdair Macintyre ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Catholic Social Thought ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

Recent Catholic literature on the common good centers on the state’s creation of the social condition for the flourishing of individuals. This view stands in contrast with a premodern conception of the common good as shared participation in the enterprise of the social whole, which appears incompatible with liberal pluralist societies. To get beyond this forced choice between individualism and imposed collectivism, Catholic social teaching can learn much from how social science’s richer description of the social whole depicts shared participatory structures of contention and competition as crucial for the achievement of the common good. Yet, following insights from both social science and the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, prudence must be developed to distinguish between structures of competition that do promote the common good and others that do not. The essay concludes with a revised definition of the common good that includes these insights.

Progressive Catholicism in the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Shadle
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
American Catholicism ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Common ◽  
American Society

American Catholicism has long adapted to US liberal institutions. Progressive Catholicism has taken the liberal values of democratic participation and human rights and made them central to its interpretation of Catholic social teaching. This chapter explores in detail the thought of David Hollenbach, S.J., a leading representative of progressive Catholicism. Hollenbach has proposed an ethical framework for an economy aimed at the common good, ensuring that the basic needs of all are met and that all are able to participate in economic life. The chapter also looks at the US Catholic bishops’ 1986 pastoral letter Economic Justice for All, which emphasizes similar themes while also promoting collaboration between the different sectors of American society for the sake of the common good.

Theology as Work: The Mandatum and the Rights of Labor

Horizons ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
Patrick T. McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Catholic Social Teaching ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Church ◽  
Safe Working

ABSTRACTMany oppose the mandatum as a threat to the academic freedom of Catholic scholars and the autonomy and credibility of Catholic universities. But the imposition of this juridical bond on working theologians is also in tension with Catholic Social Teaching on the rights and dignity of labor. Work is the labor necessary to earn our daily bread. But it is also the vocation by which we realize ourselves as persons and the profession through which we contribute to the common good. Thus, along with the right to a just wage and safe working conditions, Catholic Social Teaching defends workers' rights to a full partnership in the enterprise, and calls upon the church to be a model of participation and cooperation. The imposition of the mandatum fails to live up to this standard and threatens the jobs and vocations of theologians while undermining this profession's contribution to the church.

Maṣlaḥa as Sovereignty: Fadlallah and Khomeini Compared

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-112
Author(s):  
Nachman Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Islamic History ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Islamic Political Thought ◽  
Popular Movement ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

This article examines how Fadlallah and Khomeini’s respective quests for sovereignty are reflected in their political thought, particularly vis-a-vis their notions of maṣlaḥa, which I define as the “common good.” I argue that if, to an extent, Islamic political thought seeks to maximise maṣlaḥa, then this can also constitute a claim to sovereignty, the definition of which remains multidimensional and contentious. By closely examining Fadlallah and Khomeini’s writings and pronouncements on governance, popular movement, and state, I attempt to reveal how discussions regarding Islamic governance demonstrate a broader claim to authority in Islamic history.

scholarly journals Fest and revolt In Alboroto y Motín de Indios de México / Fiesta y revuelta en Alboroto y Motín de indios de México

2020 ◽  
pp. 44-56
Author(s):  
Leonor Taiano
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
New Spain ◽  
Active Role ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
Collective Consciousness ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Third ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Common

Este estudio examina la manera cómo Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora describe el binomio fiesta-revuelta en Alboroto y motín de indios de México. La investigación está estructurada en cinco partes. La primera toma como punto de partida el concepto de polis y los órdenes que rigen el bien común. La segunda alude a la percepción del fasto desde las diferentes perspectivas de los miembros de la polis novohispana. La tercera parte analiza la importancia del letrado en la organización virreinal. En la cuarta parte se examina el papel activo de las indias en la organización y desarrollo de la revuelta. Finalmente, en la quinta parte, propongo la existencia de una conciencia colectiva plebeya en el virreinato de Nueva España. A través de este análisis se llega a conclusión de que el motín de 1692 presenta las características propias de las revueltas que tuvieron lugar en los territorios españoles a lo largo del siglo XVII, en los cuales, durante el momento festivo, surgía una acción contestataria que trataba de imponer la isonomía en la polis This research analyses how Carlos de Sigüenza and Góngora describes the dichotomy of festivity-revolt in Alboroto y motín de Indios de México. This study is structured in five parts. The first one takes as its starting point the concept of polis and the regulations for the common good. The second one alludes to the Spanish splendor produced in the different members of Novohispanic polis. The third part analyses the letrado’s function within the viceregal organization. The fourth part examines the active role of Female Indigenous in the revolt’s organization and development. Finally, in the fifth part, I propose the existence of a Plebeian collective consciousness within the viceroyalty of New Spain. Through this analysis, the study concludes that the revolt that took place In 1692 has all the characteristics of the revolts that happened in the Spanish territories throughout the 17th century, in which, during a celebratory event, there could arise insurrectionary actions to impose the isonomia in the polis.

scholarly journals Catholic Social Teaching as an Explanation of Firm Environmental Impact

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 161-179
Author(s):  
Anne Hetson ◽  
Brian M. Saxton ◽  
Mariah Webinger ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Catholic Social Teaching ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Common ◽  
Economic Needs

Environmental sustainability in business has become a highly debated topic as societies decide how best to meet their economic needs and care for the earth. Catholic social teaching (CST) may add theoretical richness to the discussion. We examine solidarity, subsidiarity, and pursuit of the common good as dimensions of a heavy manufacturing, U.S.-based firm’s CST orientation. We find that measures of subsidiarity and common good predict a firm’s environmental performance consistent with CST principles. Results are of interest to academics, policymakers, and citizens who wish to advance the implementation of CST, environmental sustainability, or both.

Is the Common Good Obsolete?

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 261-270
Author(s):  
V. Bradley Lewis ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Catholic Social Teaching ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Intermediate Goods ◽  
The West ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
Christian Society

The idea of the common good has been a signature feature of Catholic social teaching and so of modern Catholic engagement in public affairs. It has recently been suggested that the notion is now obsolete due to changes in the culture and politics of the West. In keeping with this suggestion, some argue that Catholics should abandon it in favor of an appeal based on lower intermediate goods in a manner more related to Augustine’s engagement with the largely pagan culture of his time than to Aquinas’s categories tailored to an integrally Christian society. I argue that such a solution misreads aspects of the tradition and of the present political and cultural situation and I suggest some alternative grounds on which Catholic engagement with contemporary public life should proceed and that thinking again about the common good is a necessary part of such engagement.

scholarly journals Seeking the Common Good or Just Making Us be Good? Recent Amendment to New Zealand's Social Security Law

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Māmari Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Sufficient Conditions ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Social Security Act ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

New Zealand's social security system was born out of a vision of society consistent with a definition of the common good informed by Christian ethics. The past 30 years, in particular, have seen fierce ideological battles fought between the left and right over the extent, coverage, and generosity of the system. Yet a remnant of the vision of the common good remains, whereby individuals can have some access, by virtue of social security, to the sufficient conditions of social life to be free enough to find some level of fulfilment in that life. However, the freedom to be good, as is also required by a broad understanding of the common good, is under threat within New Zealand's social security law. Social security law asserts a vision, and not a coherent one, of what it means to be good in New Zealand society.  Newly minted social obligations in the Social Security Act 1964 go beyond the purposes of the legislation; being unconnected to relieving need, maintaining fiscal prudence, or even seeking paid employment as a means of achieving welfare. These modern moral obligations ensure that beneficiaries' freedom to choose to live life in a way consonant with the common good is frustrated, if not substantially abrogated, striking the wrong balance between the law's protection of individual autonomy and its implementation of social imperatives in pursuit of the common good.

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