What is the common good?

Whenever government is acting in ways that benefit lobbyists and special interest groups, we are told by reformers and activists to “get the money out of politics.” The job of the government isn’t to benefit rich businessmen but to work for “the common good” or “public interest.” But what is the common good?

The common good is a phrase that is repeatedly trotted out but rarely defined. The idea of a common good connotes uniformity and agreement. The majority of people agree on what government should and shouldn’t be doing but the politicians fail to listen to the wishes of the masses. But is this true? There are numerous disagreements on what the role of government should be. Some people say government shouldn’t do anything and we should have a pure free market. Some say government should do everything and anything. Some people want government limited to a watchman state where government’s only function is to settle disputes by having courts, police and a military. Some people want government involved in education, while others want government out of it. Some people want socialized medicine. Some people want America to be the policemen of the world and to “spread democracy” while others wants to shut down the military bases and end the American empire. Some want open boarders, while others want controlled immigration. In short, there are numerous people, each with their own conception of what the role of government should be.

The famous phrase, “let’s not talk politics or religion” encapsulates this idea. For if the masses agree on what “the proper” role of government should be then why not talk politics or religion? The idea of “let’s not talk politics or religion” isn’t because there’s agreement and having such a conversation is boring, rather it’s because there is disagreement and there are people who aren’t interested in having a debate or hearing views which disagree with their own.

So is people each have their own idea of what government’s role should be there is no common good since what is a common good for one is a common bad for another. Rather, “the common good” is nothing more than an arrogant view where dishonestly portrays their own subjective view on what government should be as the objective view of the masses. Instead of saying, “this is what I think government should do,” the common-gooders instead say, “Government should act in the public interest” which is really their own interest. But saying government should reflect the common good makes it harder to oppose the actions of the state. If someone says, “this is what I think government should do,” some may respond saying, “Well who are you? Why do you get to decide what government should do?” But by cloaking one’s personal preferences in the language of common agreement makes it harder to oppose the government’s action since to speak out against it means you’re an enemy of the public. People feel much more comfortable criticizing a random person’s view since who are they, but feel much more uncomfortable criticizing a view they erroneously believe is supported by the majority of the people since to critique it sounds arrogant and elitist.