The Common Good
16 Jan
I wish I was better at thinking about “us” and not just myself. The phrase “common good” conjures up so many negative thoughts and emotions for me. Most of them having to do with communism and socialism. I instantly begin thinking about the book Animal Farm and how that phrase was twisted and used for the exact opposite of what it was intended to mean.
The challenge of course is that it’s a biblical concept. Paul speaks about it as does St. Augustine and of course the early church lived this way. Maybe my repulsion to the phrase is more a product of my middle class American culture than Jesus’ actual opinion of the subject or church history.
This reminded me of the theory of John Forbes Nash (the beautiful mind guy – ironic title ftw).
I don’t remember it perfectly, but it was something along the lines of the individuals in a group being way better off if each individual were concerned with the needs of the group first, and then themselves.
I wish I were better at this too.
pinko-commie!