8 - The global common good

Summary

The increased interactions among the peoples of diverse nations of the world today requires a revitalized understanding of the common good they share. It also calls for the expansion of more traditional conceptions of the common good beyond the borders of individual nation-states. In an interdependent world the idea of the common good must take on a more universal definition. At the same time the institutions that can help both define and pursue this global common good are notably underdeveloped. The tension between the need for a vision of globally shared goods and the lack of institutions to seek such goods sets the problem to be addressed in this final chapter. The question has three dimensions. First, some signs will be sketched of a growing awareness that attaining good human lives is a shared task that cuts across national boundaries. Building on what has already been said about this in chapter 2, the first part of this chapter will also note some of the factors that make visions of a universal community simultaneously necessary and difficult to attain. Second, a normative understanding of the common good and its implications for the just creation and distribution of goods that reach across the boundaries of particular communities such as nation-states and cultural groupings will be presented. Third, some more practical proposals will be advanced for how this normative understanding can provide bearings for social and political activities in an increasingly interdependent world.