Is The Common Good Really Good?

     

How is 'The Common Good' defined?

    John Rawls defines the concept as when conditions are equal and to everyone's advantage. Meaning that everyone has the same opportunities in life, no matter their background or status in life. This can be applied to many things, including social systems, institutions, and the environments on which people depend working in a way that is beneficial to everyone. 

 Common Good or Common Bad?

    There are a lot of pros and cons to the concept of 'The Common Good'. When applied, the purpose is to make the world some kind of utopian place where competition essentially does not exist. The goal is for everyone to have equal opportunity to reach their goal. However, without competition the world would like become the opposite of a utopia. Competition is healthy and without it, there would be no motivations to improve. For example, someone who schooled for years for a degree would have the same opportunity for a job as someone who did not. Eventually, the motivation to earn a degree would fizzle out. 

Images (in order):

https://fritsahlefeldt.com/2017/11/16/logbook-16-nov-sketching-up-perspectives-on-the-common-good/

https://hiking.org/portfolio/hiking-and-the-common-good/#jp-carousel-3698

Source(s):

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/the-common-good/