The Common Good: An Ancient Idea for a Future Society

In an age marked by individualism, social fragmentation, and a crisis of human bonds, rediscovering the value of the common good is not just a cultural exercise, but an ethical and political necessity. It is the forgotten heart of democracy, the principle that can mend the fabric of a society divided between privilege and marginalisation. Recently, Pope Leo XIV, addressing representatives of international media gathered in the Vatican, stated that even artificial intelligence is, should be, oriented towards the common good.

The term “common good” is not new. It appears in Aristotelian philosophy, in the social doctrine of the Church, and in the writings of the founding fathers of any democracy. Aristotle spoke of the polis as a community aimed at the good of all citizens. Thomas Aquinas considered it the natural orientation of law and human coexistence. The Italian Constitution, in Article 2, refers to the “irrevocable duty of political, economic, and social solidarity.” Yet, despite this conceptual heritage, the common good today often seems relegated to empty slogans or mere rhetorical flourishes.

The common good is not the sum of individual goods. It is something higher: it is what enables each of us to flourish together with others. It is public education that forms citizens, healthcare accessible to all, the environment that sustains life, and social justice that ensures dignity and rights. It is the set of conditions that make a good life possible, not for a few, but for everyone.

Pope Francis, in the encyclicals Laudato si’ and Fratelli tutti, strongly reiterated this concept, stating that “the common good presupposes respect for the human person as such, with fundamental and inalienable rights ordered to his or her integral development.” He also added: “A society progresses when it cares for the fragility of its members.”

Threats to the Common Good
Today, the common good is under threat from many directions. Market forces, when left unregulated, tend to privatise what should belong to all. Politics, often focused on the short term and immediate approval, neglects collective planning. Distrust in institutions, the erosion of civic sense, and indifference to poverty and exclusion are all signs of a common good in crisis.

The environment is the clearest example: the destruction of land, pollution, and climate change affect not only isolated individuals but undermine the very conditions for shared life. Where the common good disappears, injustice, loneliness, and social resentment grow.

Finding a Way Out …Together
Defending the common good is not the responsibility of institutions alone. It is a collective duty, beginning with daily behaviours: paying taxes, respecting the rules, participating in public life, promoting inclusion and dialogue. True citizenship is born from the ability to feel part of something greater.

Fr. Lorenzo Milani also understood this: “The problems of others are the same as mine. Getting out of them alone is selfishness. Getting out of them all together is politics.” Politics, we might add, in its noblest sense: as the building of the good of all.

Placing the common good back at the centre means relearning to think in terms of “we” rather than “I.” It means recognising that we are interdependent, that the fate of each person is tied to that of others. This is the challenge of our time: to save what is human in a world at risk of forgetting it.

For the common good is not a utopia: it is the only path to building a just, inclusive, and future-capable society.

Pietro Giordano
http://www.vinonuovo.it 16.06.2025
See, Il bene comune: un’idea antica per una società futura
Translated by Jpic-jp.org