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

2021 ◽  
Vol XIX (1) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Karol Jasiński

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.

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 319
Author(s):  
Andrew Bradstock

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.


Author(s):  
Leonor Taiano

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.


1996 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Nadon

While recent scholarship has provoked renewed interest in the Education of Cyrus as an important work for our understanding of the origins of classical political philosophy, it has yet to produce a coherent interpretation that preserves the unity of Xenophon's vision of political life. Following a short review of three recent books on the subject, I argue that the obstacles in the way to such an understanding can be resolved by focusing on the underlying causes in Xenophon's account of the transformation of a republican regime into a universal empire and, in particular, on the various deficiencies and self-contradictions of the republican conception of the common good. I show how an understanding of Xenophon's analysis of virtue within both republican and imperial political orders can lead to a fruitful confrontation with the thought of his most famous student, admirer, and antagonist, Machiavelli.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-112
Author(s):  
Nachman Alexander

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-63
Author(s):  
Bartosz Mika

This text can be defined as an attempt to look at the question of the common good through sociological glasses. The author suggests that many of the issues subsumed under  the term “the common good” have already been elucidated and described in detail on the basis of classical and contemporary sociology. If it is assumed that the common good can be understood triply, as (1) a postulate of the social good, (2) materially, as an object of collective ownership, and (3) as an effect of the individual’s life in society, then it must be admitted that, at least in the third case, reference to the collected achievements of sociology is necessary in order to describe the common good properly.


1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Broadhead

ABSTRACTThis article examines the forces that shaped the responses of the urban commons to the Reformation in Augsburg. Developing work by Blickle and others, it considers the extent to which traditional communal ideals were reflected in measures to construct a system of ‘sacral corporatism’. An examination of the attitudes of guildsmen towards communal values and institutions shows variation in their views, even on such basic points as the identification and imposition of the ‘common good’. Case studies show how predominantly poor weavers were attracted to the call to enforce communal principles as a means of defending their status and incomes. To this end they welcomed evangelical teaching, for it provided scriptural and ethical endorsements of corporate action. In contrast, members of the butchers' guild, who were involved in a capital intensive occupation, resisted communal restraints on their freedom to trade and make profits. The butchers' opposition to the Reformation rested more on their rejection of ‘sacral corporatism’, as advocated by reformers in Augsburg, than on support for Catholicism. Augsburg shows the significance of communal values in the urban Reformation, but it demonstrates that these were neither static nor uniformly accepted. On the contrary they were themselves the subject of dispute.


Author(s):  
James Stacey Taylor

The first question that is often raised in a discussion of the ethics of voting is whether or not there is a duty to vote. The view that there is a duty to vote is supported by two main arguments. The first holds that since the value of democratic governance is high persons should vote to preserve stable democracy. The second is that there is a duty to vote because if nobody voted the effects would be disastrous. The first of these arguments is criticized by Jason Brennan, who holds that since each individual vote will play little to no role in preserving stable democracy nobody has a duty to vote. The second is criticized by Loren Lomasky and Geoffrey Brennan, who argue that it is incomplete unless its supporters can show that democracy needs everyone to vote to continue. The question of whether there is a duty to vote naturally leads to the question of whether it is permissible for persons to vote in their own self-interest. Jason Brennan argues that persons should only (morally) vote for candidates or policies that they are justified in believing would promote the common good. It is unclear, however, what “the common good” consists of. This discussion of the morality of voting in one’s self-interest leads to the question of whether voting for a politician because she has made campaign promises is morally analogous to a voter selling her vote. In discussing this issue it is important to distinguish between the “restricted” defense of markets in votes (that the purchased votes are to be cast in favor of what the buyer is justified in believing is the common good) and the “unrestricted” defense of such a market (that purchased votes can be cast in any way the buyer pleases). Much of this discussion focuses on the morality of unrestricted markets in votes. Christopher Freiman has offered four main arguments in favor of such a market: (1) that it will make both the buyer and the seller better off; (2) that it is required by respect for voter liberty; (3) that it is relevantly similar to other practices that are currently allowed, such as logrolling; and (4) that it would enable electoral outcomes to better express voter preferences. None of these arguments are persuasive. The first is based on illicitly inferring from the claim that persons would voluntarily buy and sell votes if a market were allowed to the claim that they would thereby desire that this market be allowed. The second argument is flawed because if some persons would prefer that a market not be allowed, this could provide a sufficient reason to restrict their liberty by precluding them from selling their votes. The third argument overlooks important disanalogies between votes traded between voters, and votes traded between legislators. The fourth argument is based on the implausible assumption that vote sellers would not misrepresent their political preferences in a market for votes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Pearson

AbstractThe nature of a public theology is to concern itself with the common good and the flourishing of all. The subject of climate change is to the forefront of the public agenda. Now and then the level of concern can slip down the opinion polls and it does attract a concerted degree of scepticism. It is nevertheless an issue that can allow us to consider the purpose and practice of a public theology. This article sets out to draw upon the insights of others who have contributed to this issue of the International Journal of Public Theology. It also sets out to place this work inside other discussions on what is a public theology and its intersection with an ecotheology.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Māmari Stephens

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10305
Author(s):  
Ana T. Ejarque ◽  
Vanessa Campos

Over the past decades, sustainability and corporate sustainability have gained a lot of attention. Currently, the focus of attention has shifted to the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into businesses operation. The extant literature points to the proposed frameworks as not fitting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) reality and, also, to a lack of empirical evidence in this field. With research at the intersection of business and SDGs still being scarce, the Economy for the Common Good (ECG) model allows operationalizing the SDGs employing its novel measurement theory. The present study is aimed at completing the statistical validation process of the ECG measurement theory using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on a sample of 206 European firms. Thus, after having performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), this study takes as a starting point the previously published knowledge and proceeds with the second step of the statistical validation process. The results of CFA confirm the conclusions of the EFA and allow to redefine the measurement scales included in the ECG framework to achieve a sufficient level of goodness of fit.


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