The Concept of the Common Good

Change is never easy, and Will Roger’s famous description of his Party has definitely continued to apply during the last few years. Nevertheless, there is one area where it seems Democrats are starting to come together and get organized.  In the last few months, Democrats have finally starting to embrace the power and potential inherent in the concept of “the common good.”  The road to this point has not been a particularly smooth one.  Early on, a number of the old guard strategists argued that if Democrats talked about the common good, that would make us sound too wishy-washy or pro-big government.  Not understanding the powerful moral message inherent in the concept of the common good (or the fact that most of our Party’s beliefs and platform are basically summed up by this principle), they feared that the common good would make people think of tax-and-spend liberalism.  But slowly different candidates and party officials began to use the concept of the common good as the umbrella for their faith outreach efforts…and those efforts bore good fruit.

As some Democrats began to use the term, others began to poll on it.  The polls provided that all important empirical data to support the arguments many of us had been making for a long time.  The Center for American Progress (CAP) conducted a major poll in which they found that 85% of Americans agreed with the statement that “our government should be committed to the common good.”  The study also pointed out that although Americans really liked “the common good” as an idea, they did not have a clear idea of what it meant.  Finally, there was some positive values language that Democrats could define in the same way Republicans have defined “family values” and “life.”  And if you’ve been reading the papers, you’ll realize that is precisely what the Democrats have been doing!

A couple weeks ago, Bob Casey delivered a landmark speech at Catholic University entitled “Restoring America’s Moral Compass: Leadership and the Common Good”   (click the link to read the speech and some of the national press it got).  Casey structured his speech around the concept of the common good and how that should be the driving principle for government and society.

He began by quoting the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ latest publication of a Guide to Faithful Citizenship, which says:  “Politics in this election year and beyond should be about an old idea with new power – the common good.  The central question should not be, ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’  It should be, ‘How can we – all of us, especially the weak and vulnerable – be better off in the years ahead?'”  He then went on to talk about how the common good is rooted in the principles of justice, compassion, integrity, and community.

His speech demonstrated the correct way of incorporating faith into the public square, and it stands as a model other Democrats can follow.  They have been.  Shortly after Casey’s speech, John Kerry came out of the closet about his own faith and publicly spoke about the importance of the common good.  In Kansas, Governor Sebelius (our featured candidate this week on faithfuldemocrats.com) gave a major address on faith in the public square that focused on the common good.  Rep. Sherrod Brown will be keynoting the Call to Renewal rally in Cincinnati next weekend, speaking on the common good.  Governor Granholm gave a speech a few weeks ago to over a hundred Catholic priests and lay leaders and will be speaking again at an evangelical college in western Michigan later this month on the common good.  The preamble of the Michigan Democratic Party platform opens with a beautiful statement on how Democrats are a Party dedicated to the common good.   Do a Google news search on “Democrat and Common Good” and there are now more stories than one can read on a concept that less than a year ago was hardly talked about within Democratic circles.

The “common good” is a perfect example of how we can and should be engaging the faith community and allowing our faith to guide our policies without infringing upon the establishment clause of the Constitution.  The concept of the common good is one that is deeply rooted in faith, but it is not a term that will turn off people from different faith traditions or Democrats with no faith at all.  And it meets the all-important faith messaging criterion that what we say MUST be authentic.  Since FDR, Democrats have been a Party that has believed government should be about promoting the common good.  Our platforms and greatest initiatives have been based on the belief that America is at its best when we seek to serve a greater good than our own self-interest.  The time has come for our Party to again openly and proudly declare those principles…and we are.  It’s a good time to be a Democrat.