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Forum : Article Discussions : A Randian Definition of the Common Good


Tuesday
January 4, 2005
Objectivism
A Randian Definition of the Common Good
by Edward W. Younkins
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Whatever is alleged to be the common good must be good and must be universal. The common good must be that which is good for every human being. Liberty fulfills this requirement, because protected self-directedness is good for every person. The common good rests not in what men do when they are free, but rather in the fact that they are free. The common good consists in treating each person as an end and never solely as a means to an end. This simply means respecting the personal autonomy of each individual. (Read more...)
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Machan

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Tuesday, January 4, 2005 - 9:16amSanction this postReply
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Apropos this topic, my very first single author book, The Pseudo-Science of B. F. Skinner (1974), discusses this in its second part, drawing on an essay I had written for the now defunct The Journal of Human Relations in 1970 or so. Check it out, you might like the treatment.

Patrick
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Tuesday, January 4, 2005 - 5:24amSanction this postReply
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Ed,
Your points are well made.  The basic nature of man is that he is born free.  Despite what some leaders and officials would have us think, no person is born with a chain around his neck or any naturally existing obligation to anyone other than himself. A man's two greatest strengths are his free will and his ability to use reason to make proper choices with his free will.  Any limits on either of these strengths will limit a man's ability to make the most out of his life and efforts, thus detracting from what you define as "the common good." 

Great article! And I feel that I should mention to anyone reading this, that if you liked the above essay, you should check out Dr. Younkins'  book, Capitalism and Commerce.  It's a highly insightful and impressive work. 


Ed Younkins

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Tuesday, January 4, 2005 - 6:12pmSanction this postReply
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Thanks Tibor!!!!

I will check out your writings on this topic.

Thank you too Patrick!!!!

I am pleased you liked this essay and my book.

Cheers!!!

Ed


Michael Philip
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Thursday, November 26, 2015 - 8:30pmSanction this postReply
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This sounds great, but I'd like to ask a Devil's Advocate question. It seems that you are tying the common good to one's personal good, as that pertains to reflecting on one's own actions and making choices based on those reflections. Is the human good limited to this, or do the results of those thoughts and actions play a role in one's personal good? And if so, how does this relate to the common good? Does the common good involve results as well as reflective thoughts and actions, which means that one might judge one free society as better than another free society in terms of results? Or must one by necessity only look at thoughts and actions (not results) when evaluating the common good?



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