St Thomas Aquinas defined laws as the “ordering of reason to the common good” (ordinatio rationis ad bonum commune). This ordering of reason is the essence of justice, that cardinal virtue which, in turn, establishes relationships in society according to a criterion of fairness and equity.
The promotion of the common good is the promotion of social justice.
As St John XXIII declared in his Encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth): “Human society demands that men be guided by justice, respect the rights of others and do their duty. It demands, too, that they be animated by such love as will make them feel the needs of others as their own and induce them to share their goods with others and to strive in the world to make all men alike heirs to the noblest of intellectual and spiritual values” (Pacem in Terris, 1963, 35).
In the same encyclical, he continues to explain that: “The attainment of the common good is the sole reason for the existence of civil authorities. In working for the common good, therefore, the authorities must obviously respect its nature and, at the same time, adjust their legislation to meet the requirements of the given situation” (Pacem in Terris, 54).
Pope Francis summarised the teaching of the Church on the common good in his Encyclical Laudato Sì (Praise be to You): “The common good is ‘the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment’.
“Underlying the principle of the common good is respect for the human person as such, endowed with basic and inalienable rights ordered to his or her integral development. It has also to do with the overall welfare of society and the development of a variety of intermediate groups, applying the principle of subsidiarity. Outstanding among those groups is the family, as the basic cell of society. Finally, the common good calls for social peace, the stability and security provided by a certain order that cannot be achieved without particular concern for distributive justice. Whenever this is violated, violence always ensues. Society as a whole, and the state, in particular, are obliged to defend and promote the common good.”
Society as a whole, and the state, in particular, are obliged to defend and promote the common good
“In the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, the principle of the common good immediately becomes, logically and inevitably, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters. This option entails recognising the implications of the universal destination of the world’s goods but, as I mentioned in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium [The Joy of the Gospel], it demands, before all else, an appreciation of the immense dignity of the poor in the light of our deepest convictions as believers” (Laudato Sì, 2015, 156-158).
One concrete aspect I would like to bring to our reflection is the need to promote and ensure an equitable distribution of the wealth generated in our society. One of the mechanisms of this equitable distribution is the appreciation of labour through which capital is turned into wealth.
This appreciation of labour is, in turn, implemented through the mechanism of a just wage.
We should ask ourselves whether the wealth being generated in our society is creating new forms of economic disparity, whether it is creating an oligarchy of the super-rich while reducing our workers to situations where they cannot even afford the monthly rent for a decent home, where the savage laws of demand and supply are reducing many people to situations without hope and without a secure future.
It is the role of the government to ensure that Maltese citizens continue to enjoy a dignified standard of living in their own homeland. This includes the ability of low-income families, young couples who are in the process of setting up their family and pensioners to be able to enjoy proper housing and proper nutrition, good education and health services.
As we thrive to attract the rich and the mighty of this world to invest here and work among us, let us also try to ensure that our families are not edged out of the decent standard of living most of them still enjoy.
We are blessed by a strong welfare policy that needs to be sustained and promoted. However, the political community must not focus only on economic growth as the sole means of advancing the common good.
Pope Francis added another dimension to the notion of the common good when he declared: “The notion of the common good also extends to future generations. We can no longer speak of sustainable development apart from intergenerational solidarity. Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realise that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others.” (Laudato Sì, 159).