As our society continues to fracture, writers across the political spectrum have repeatedly invoked the classical concept of the common good. Thinkers such as Jacques Maritain and Yves Simon offered robust accounts of the common good in a pluralistic, democratic society. Yet frequently, today’s invocations of the common good dodge questions about pluralism and pass over these accounts or reject them outright. Were these earlier thinkers naïve? Do their accounts still offer us valuable insights, or were they better suited to a time that has now passed? How can we genuinely promote the common good in a society with so much disagreement about what it is? 

Ross Douthat is a New York Times Opinion columnist. This lecture was presented at the Morningside Institute on February 24, 2022. The Morningside Institute brings scholars and students together to examine human life beyond the classroom and consider its deepest questions through the life of New York City. For more information about upcoming events, please visit https://www.morningsideinstitute.org.

For a video recording of this lecture, please visit: https://youtu.be/QnxhVXKs_9w