The Good and the Bad of the Common Good

The concept of the common good has once again sparked debate among the Republican Party establishment and Trump's supporters. JD Vance, seen as a potential 2028 GOP presidential nominee, is often associated with this ideology. I have personally engaged in these discussions and proposed a theory of "common good originalism." However, this second round of debate has been disappointing, with too much intellectual twisting and inflammatory trolling on both sides.

The common good is indeed a part of the American political tradition, as the Constitution's Framers identified it as the reason for the charter's existence. The Preamble refers to the "more perfect Union" and "general Welfare," while James Madison wrote in The Federalist No. 57 that a constitution's aim should be the cultivation and elevation of "men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of the society."

The common good refers to a collective good that is attainable only when citizens flourish in harmony with one another. It is a collective good that is greater than the sum of its parts. Plato, Aristotle, and even the Bible speak of the common good, which is an aspirational goal for statesmen and politicians.

While some conservative critics see the invocation of the common good as a rejection of individual liberty, this is a false choice. The Framers cherished liberty and saw it as an important component of the common good. However, there are other components, like order and virtue. Some critics of the common good imagine its supporters as closet monarchists or statists, but this is also incorrect. The Framers, most notably Madison, described the common good as the "aim" of the document.

On the other hand, some proponents of the common good have turned out to be their worst enemies. For example, some on X have called for "Franco Friday" in light of the recent migrant invasion of Spanish exclave Ceuta. No American should praise fascism or any individual fascist in the name of the common good. Furthermore, the common good cannot justify whitewashing anti-Semitism or any other form of overt discrimination.

The most frustrating aspect of this online debate is that there is a real issue to discuss. In recent decades, America has veered too far towards globalism and consumerism in trade policy, at the expense of production and supply chain resilience. In immigration policy, America has veered too far towards openness, at the expense of civic solidarity and cultural cohesion. In the culture war, America has veered too far towards amoral, "live and let live" permissiveness on issues like marijuana, surrogacy, and transgenderism.

Balancing individual liberty and dignity with the common good is an old question in politics, but America's Founding Fathers had it right. Conservatives should recognize this instead of rewriting the Founding or supporting dictators. However, in order to have a meaningful debate, we need a real conversation first.