What is the Common Good?
In a country where everything seems less secure - our jobs, health care, pensions, national defense, the environment, and even our marriages - it is easy to lose sight of the common good and the call to care for our neighbors as ourselves. A culture of the common good is one in which people look out for each other and concern for one another is reflected in our corporations, communities, and government.
A culture of the common good provides for the health, welfare, and dignity of all people, regardless of race, gender, religion or economic class. This central goal of Catholic Social Teaching expresses our faith's understanding that society functions best when decisions are made with an eye toward what benefits everyone, and not just the few. In the words of Pope John Paul II, the common good refers to the "good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all."
Concern for the common good is deeply enshrined in the values of our nation as well. The first three words of our Constitution's Preamble, "We the people," remind us that the United States is first and foremost a community of human relationships. Unlike many nations, that bond comes not from a common ethnicity or religion but from our common humanity and our shared belief in the freedom and dignity of all people.
This balance between self- and shared-interest should not be understood only as a summons to perform works of charity. While we should work to help the least fortunate, the common good is best served when all are able to make their own contributions to social and economic life. In this respect, our Christian and American understanding of the common good impels us to seek a world where all have the opportunity to realize their full human potential, engage in productive work, and lead fulfilled lives.
The erosion of community life that accompanies this era of greed, materialism, and excessive individualism ranks among the most imminent threats to our national well-being. In fact, one Zogby poll found that "greed and materialism" topped a list most urgent moral crisis in the US. Lost retirement savings due to recent corporate accounting scandals, dissolution of family life under the weight of overworked and underpaid parents, and growing fears about the long-term effects of global climate change are reminders that individual decisions can have painful and far-reaching consequences. In answering this call to the common good, we express our understanding that rising tides should lift all boats - we are better off individually when all are better off as a whole.
