Choosing the Common Good
British Catholic document
Choosing the Common Good is a 2010 document issued by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, clarifying the principles of Catholic social teaching.
The document was issued in the run up to the UK 2010 General Election. As well as explaining social teaching about the Common Good, it also focused upon the need to rebuild trust after the 2008 financial crisis and political expense scandals.
The document is a follow-up to bishops' 1996 document: The Common Good and the Catholic Church’s Social teaching, which was issued prior to the 1997 United Kingdom general election. This document provides updates, taking into account recent Papal encyclicals such as Pope Benedict XVI's Caritas in veritate.
Purpose of the document
Archbishop Vincent Nichols identified the purpose of the document as a contribution to the issues of the moment. "... It proposes that without a wider debate about a shared vision for our society, the electioneering may well be confined to bitter arguments over issues of particular policy. We need a more wide-ranging debate about the values and vision which can underpin all our joint effort today.
What is the Common Good
The Common Good refers to that which belongs to everyone in virtue of their common humanity "the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily"
The common good is explained as not a generalised best possible for a society, where the average can be pulled up by some individuals doing particularly well.
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