Common good

In philosophy, ethics, and political science the common good (also common wealth or common weal) is a specific "good" that is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community.

The good that is common between person C and person B may not be the same as between person A and person C. Thus the common good can often change, although there are some things — such as the basic requirements for staying alive: food, water, and shelter — that are always good for all people.

Other definitions

Utilitarianism

The common good has sometimes been seen as a utilitarian ideal, thus representing "the greatest possible good for the greatest possible number of individuals". The "greatest possible number of individuals" would mean all human beings. This definition of the common good presents it as a quality which is convertible, or reducible, to the sum total of all the private interests of the individual members of a society and interchangeable with them. But this is a narrow, and many would argue impoverished, view of what the common good might encompass.

Common good (economics)

Common goods are defined in economics as goods which are rivalrous and non-excludable. Thus, they constitute one of the four main types of the most common typology of goods based on the criteria:

Common Good

Common Good is a nonprofit organization in the United States that advocates a basic shift in legal structures "to restore common sense to American law." In June 2008, the organization, founded in 2002 by Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and author of The Death of Common Sense, created NewTalk, an online public policy forum that tackles tough issues that are inadequately addressed in the national political debate.

Among the leaders who have participated in NewTalk discussions are New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker.

Common Good advocates, among other things, the creation of special health courts to address medical malpractice complaints. Pilot health courts are currently being designed by Common Good in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health.

References

External links