What is the common good? Let us break it down, Common means ubiquitous, the masses as one radio host likes to say. Now good is a hard nut to crack. because everybody has a different idea on what is good, yet we all like to breath clean air , drink clean water, have nutritious food to eat. Most people like to have shelter for those times when you would like a safe place to rest. So all of these things could be said to be in the common good.
What are some other things we might all find good? Would a meaningful pusuit be on the list? How many of us actually have that is it that common? I know I would hope it is and certainly have recommended that to people. We in our modern society might even consider having access to electricity to power our refrigerator or run a fan to keep thier house cool on a summer day. There are other utilities that we could deem good for all Sewage , trash pickup. I would like to add recycling to that list it would be good if that where common.
We might all agree that it is good if we can speak freely Then again you might disagree if the speech is about you and you do not like what is being said but I would argue it is important to have free speech. Maybe this would be a good time to throw in some values like respect for all. Being kind might be another value that is in the common good..
How about bio-diversity would this be in the common good? Would tree lined streets, parks and greenways be in this common good? Would health rivers, deltas and oceans be on your list of the common good? It would be on mine. We are creatures of this ecology of the entire planet. We all have to share the atmosphere, hydrosphere and a piece of dirt to dig our toes into.
I am no going to go out on to a limb and state something which certainly not all people would say should be common or good, that would be the medium which I am using to communicate these ideas on the common good the internet, the world wide web. I am not sure how common it is but I do feel that the web has been good for the worlds awakening. It enables many that would otherwise be cut off from most communication by its lack. That it could be used better, align with say common values like respect, kindness, and compassion. Then again it would be good if we commonly held the
se values.