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For the Common Good: Unleashing the Power of Passion, Purpose& Hope
Why common good matters
‘Only by inspiring a spiritual and practical commitment to the common good can we help make our common life better.’
There is an ancient idea that we have lost, but can and should find again. It’s called simply the common good. It goes back many centuries, but the need for a new dialogue about what it means and what its practice would require of us has never seemed more critical.
But what is the Common Good? A Brief Introduction
Notions of the Common Good have been central to conceptions of society since Plato and Aristotle, and have been described in fairly consistent ways since then. There has been general agreement that the search for “…the common good is disciplined yearning, deliberation, judgment, and action in concrete realization of the best, most choiceworthy way to live” and that “Its most basic meaning is that the community and its institutions should serve the good of all its citizens and not just the restricted good of a particular ruler or class.”
Put more simply, the Common Good is advanced when society’s institutions, including foundations, operate in the interests of the broadest possible swath of people.
In short, the Common Good is much more than the aggregate of individual goods and accomplishments. Rather, it reflects both the morality and the enlightened self-interest that allows institutions across society to operate so that all might enjoy a life of justly and humanely distributed resources, rewards, responsibilities and obligations.
The Journey to Build a Better World for the Common Good
From Oxford 2002 to Oxford 2016: Portrait of a Great Journey for the Common Good
Plater College, Oxford (2002)- St. Petersburg, Russia (2003)- Dubai, UAE (2004)- Nairobi and Kericho, Kenya(2005)- Chaminade University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (2006)-Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey (2007)- Trinity College, University of Melbourne, Australia (2008)- Loyola University, Chicago, USA (2009)- California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, California, USA (2010)- Alexandria Bibliotheca, Alexandria, Egypt (2011—Postponed, due to the Revolution in Egypt)- School of Economic Science, Oxford Campus, Waterperry House, Oxford, UK (2012), Cité universitaire internationale, Paris, France (2013), and School of Economic Science, Oxford Campus, Waterperry House, Oxford, UK (2014 and 2016)
Why Values Matter: The Power of Purpose and Values: The Path to a Better World
Waterperry House, Oxford, 31 August-4 September 2016
Building a better world, the world of values in the interest of the common good is indeed a holistic journey. It encompasses all our relationships in our daily lives, from how we interact with each other, across diversity, to how we care for the planet and steward our resources and how we relate to a faith or spiritual values and envision a future bigger than ourselves. Our Conference this year, similar to the previous ones, will take participants on a journey into building and co-creating the better world we are all yearning for.
We will be delighted if you can join us.
Meet our Plenary Speakers and see the Final Programme
Read further about the Common Good
Photo: prodigalthought.net
The Value of Values: Why Values Matter
Dear Prime Minister-Britain needs a New Economic Model
The Journey to Sophia: Education for Wisdom
What might an Economy for the Common Good look like?
Storytelling for the Common Good
The Common Good - A Background Essay
Why a Simple Life Matters: The Path to peace and happiness lies in the simple things in life