Saints LightWhat Is the Common Good?
The common good is the network of conditions that lets every person and community flourish, and building it is everyone's job, not just the government's.
What this lesson teaches
- The common good is the set of social conditions that let every person and group flourish.
- Its three elements are respect for the person, social well-being and development, and peace.
- Everyone shares responsibility for it, through participation in public life.
- It rejects both extreme individualism and collectivism.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 1905-1912
- CCC 1913-1915
- CCC 2239-2240
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:26; Philippians 2:4.
A sample question from this lesson
How does the common good differ from "the greatest good for the greatest number"?
- The common good is the good of all and of each, so no one may be sacrificed for the majority
- The common good is only concerned with the majority
- There is no real difference between them
- The common good is concerned only with spiritual matters
Show the answer
The common good is the good of all and of each, so no one may be sacrificed for the majority. The common good serves every person and group (CCC 1906); it never treats a minority as expendable.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Common good
- The social conditions that allow people, as groups and individuals, to reach their fulfillment.
- Participation
- Each person's active engagement, according to their role, in building up the common good.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"What Is the Common Good?" is lesson 3 of Catholic Social Teaching. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- The Fourth Commandment: Honor Your Father and Mother (The Commandments)