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In his work Christian Political Order and Modernity: A Matter of Principles, Professor José Luis Widow includes a simple and illuminating explanation of the notion of the Common Good. “The good is common because it is communicable, that is, because many can share in the benefits it brings.” He adds some quotes from other authors, such as Rubén Calderón Bouchet, which complement his discourse: “The greater the ontological perfection a being has, the better it is, and the better it is, the more common it is, because its goodness extends to a greater number of entities.” In these pages, we also learn that the communicability of the good varies depending on whether we are dealing with material or immaterial goods. In this way, material goods (e.g., food) are less communicable, as the only way they can benefit many is by being divided into several parts. The opposite is true for immaterial goods (such as knowledge or language), which are considered common in the proper sense. Among these, we distinguish those goods that have their own existence (as is the case with God) from other goods whose existence depends on human action (e.g., language).
Many goods that are the fruit of human action (such as language) precisely require human association, making it impossible for an isolated individual to obtain them. What happens with goods that have their own existence independent of human action? Widow answers without leaving any doubt: “Regarding the Common Good that has its own subsistence, as in the case of God, it could, in fact, be attained by a single man, but since it is the good of a rational being who cannot develop his rationality in isolation, even reaching the knowledge of God requires human social life.” Therefore, we conclude that in order to attain the supreme Common Good, God Himself, man needs to live in society.
Some Catholics believe that, given the current state of social disorder we live in, this requirement can be satisfied by creating small societies of a few committed Catholics, where they can live their faith peacefully and, in this way, survive until a future time more favorable to religion or until the end of time—whichever comes first. However, the Common Good is not common to just a few but to all men. Therefore, the aspiration (sometimes more feasible, other times less so) of Catholics throughout History has been the establishment of a just social order that directs the entire political community toward the Common Good. Thus, the Church has maintained that sincere concern for the good of one’s neighbor should not be limited to offering prayers for their conversion but also to ensuring that the social, political, and economic conditions in which they live are just. Ultimately, this means working to restore the foundations of social life, with the goal of creating a favorable context for the achievement of various human goods (both material and immaterial) until the complete Common Good is reached.
To achieve this end, the path to follow is none other than to put at the service of this endeavor all the natural and supernatural means at our disposal. While prayer is indispensable, the temporal means at man’s disposal, together with prayer, are the tools with which God equips humanity to influence the course of History.
Nieves Sánchez, Círculo Cultural Alberto Ruiz de Galarreta
Translated by the Gremio San Jerónimo
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