{"id":2666,"date":"2020-10-01T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oikonomia.it\/?post_type=articolo&#038;p=2666"},"modified":"2026-04-19T04:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:28:18","slug":"stretching-the-common-good","status":"publish","type":"articolo","link":"https:\/\/www.oikonomia.it\/en\/2020\/ottobre\/stretching-the-common-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Stretching the Common Good"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In order that a Christian view of human flourishing become widely accepted, as Hollenbach rightly observes, the common good \u201cmust take on a more universal definition\u201d<sup>1<\/sup>. I examine the development of this position and the challenges it presents.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Expanding the common good<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the first Catholic social teaching document the common good is concerned with the \u201cinterests of all in general\u201d while upholding \u201cindividual interests\u201d <sup>2<\/sup>. By 1963 the \u201cgeneral\u201d is defined as universal within the Church\u2019s context in that the common good is \u201cintimately bound up with human nature\u201d and, therefore, it \u201ccan never exist fully and completely unless the human person is taken into account at all times\u201d\u00a0<sup>3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>In<em>\u00a0Centesimus Annus<\/em>, however, there is a shift in emphasis in the recognition that the fulfilment of the common good is dependent upon a normative, but not uniform, vision. As it was no longer sufficient to wait for conversion to the Catholic social principle, attention moved towards possible overlaps, affinities, and collaboration. Specifically, Pope Saint John Paul II refers to a process of alignment in \u201corienting them [lifestyles and models of production and consumption] according to an adequate notion of the common good in relation to the whole human family\u201d<sup>4<\/sup>. The key word is \u201cadequate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Adequacy in relation to the common good, while undefined, is a commitment to shared dialogue and practice. This position is developed by Pope Benedict XVI as he affirms that the common good and \u201cthe effort to obtain it cannot fail to assume the dimensions of the whole human family\u201d<sup>5<\/sup>. Using the image of the city, itself a cognate for plurality, the mutual use of space and resources shapes the \u201c<em>earthly city<\/em>\u201d<sup>6<\/sup>\u00a0in preparation for the heavenly city. By extension, with an openness to the truth \u201cfrom whichever branch of knowledge it comes, the Church\u2019s social doctrine receives it, assembles into a unity the fragments in which it is often found, and mediates it within the constantly changing life-patterns of the society of peoples and nations\u201d<sup>7<\/sup>. Such assemblage of \u201cadequate\u201d parts into a comprehensive whole is the craft work of the earthly city to which the Church is committed along with multiple stakeholders.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Challenges with a global common good<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Merely positing the common good as universal and acknowledging the need for a collective effort is not the same as engaging with the challenges this position entails. This section addresses two tensions that arise with a globalised common good. First, the association between a universal common good and globalisation. Second, the importance of national interest within a global vision of the common good.<\/p>\n<p>Associating the common good with globalisation is a direct response to the negative consequences of globalisation to which Pope Francis makes repeated reference. For instance, Pope Francis observes a \u201cglobalisation of indifference\u201d<sup>8<\/sup>\u00a0that has evidenced the exacerbation of social and economic inequalities on the one hand and a process of de-sensitisation towards this steeped inequality on the other. Globalisation is problematic especially \u201cin the developing world&#8230;[where it] is often simply identified with unjust exclusion of poor countries from influence on powerful economic forces\u201d<sup>9<\/sup>. Distance is not only determined economically because \u201cglobalisation is experienced in\u00a0<em>subjective<\/em>\u00a0terms\u201d<sup>10<\/sup>\u00a0too whereby people experience a gulf between institutions that operate further from the local area and daily concerns experienced therein. This is a significant lesson. Articulations of the global common good must not lose sight of the subjective dimension and localised concerns otherwise it will be perceived as part of the problem and not the solution.<\/p>\n<p>With a universal reach, the common good creates global citizens. A risk is that this posits the common good as a force against national self-interest and patriotism in the search of a \u201cuniversalism or generic internationalism that neglects the identity of individual peoples\u201d<sup>11<\/sup>. Narratives about the common good must show how national self-interest is not denied but is certainly relativized since \u201cnational interest as understood in traditional realism does not correspond to the way the threats of environmental degradation, disease transmission, and weapons proliferation cut across national boundaries\u201d<sup>12<\/sup>. Terrorism and security should be added to this list as well.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Reflection points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To end on a practical note, the following questions are proposed:<\/p>\n<p><strong>i.<\/strong>\u00a0In one sentence how would you describe what is meant by the common good?<br \/>\n<strong>ii.<\/strong>\u00a0Is there a single concrete act you can complete today that promotes and contributes to the common good?<br \/>\n<strong>iii.<\/strong>\u00a0How do you envision the common good in relation to your personal good?<br \/>\n<strong>iv.<\/strong>\u00a0How do you envision your personal good in relation to the national good?<br \/>\n<strong>v.<\/strong>\u00a0How do you envision the national in relation to an international good?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Ryan Service<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>\u00a0D. Hollenbach,\u00a0<em>The Common Good and Christian Ethics<\/em>, New Yor<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0Leo XIII,\u00a0<em>Encyclical\u00a0Rerum Novarum\u00a0<\/em>(15 May 1891), \u00a7 51.<\/p>\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>\u00a0John XXIII,\u00a0<em>Encyclical Pacem in Terris<\/em>\u00a0(11 April 1963), \u00a755.<\/p>\n<p><sup>4<\/sup>\u00a0John Paul II,\u00a0<em>Encyclical Centesimus Annus<\/em>\u00a0(1 May 1991), \u00a758.<\/p>\n<p><sup>5<\/sup>\u00a0Benedict XVI,\u00a0<em>Encyclical Caritas in Veritate<\/em>\u00a0(29 June 2009), \u00a77.<\/p>\n<p><sup>6<\/sup>\u00a0ibid<\/p>\n<p><sup>7<\/sup>\u00a0<em>Caritas in Veritate<\/em>, 9<\/p>\n<p><sup>8<\/sup>\u00a0Francis,<em>\u00a0Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium<\/em>\u00a0(24 November 2013), \u00a754.<\/p>\n<p><sup>9<\/sup>\u00a0Hollenbach, 215.<\/p>\n<p><sup>10<\/sup>\u00a0A. Rowlands, \u201cAn uprooted nation? Brexit and a Christian Vision of the Common Good\u201d, 9 December 2009, (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/religion\/uprroted-nation-brexit-and-a-christian-vision-of-common-good\/11776698\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/<\/a>). Accessed 02.07.20.<\/p>\n<p><sup>11<\/sup>\u00a0C. Mares, \u201cPope Francis: \u2018The common good has become global\u2019\u201d, Catholic News Agency, 2 May 2019, (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-francis-the-common-good-has-become-global-93364\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/<\/a>). Accessed 01.07.20.<\/p>\n<p><sup>12<\/sup>\u00a0Hollenbach, 216-17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":""},"autori":[1201],"fascicolo":[293],"class_list":["post-2666","articolo","type-articolo","status-publish","hentry","autori-ryan-service","fascicolo-ottobre-2020"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Oikonomia - Stretching the Common Good<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leggi l&#039;articolo a cura di Ryan Service, pubblicato nel numero di Ottobre 2020. 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