One of my favorite books from recent years that also had the distinction of being a bestseller is God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It, by Jim Wallis. While I don't agree with everything that Wallis says, one of the main ideas of the book is exactly right. He discusses the fact that a driving force behind much of the civil rights movement, including the ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr., was "the common good" (Aristotle discussed this idea long ago as well). Wallis argues that we need a new infusion of it in our politics, religion, and social lives. Wouldn't it be incredible if devotion to the common good, even if it required some personal sacrifice, was the norm rather than the exception in political and social life?
What does this have to do with running? Many runners get this idea. We encourage other runners in races, even if this might work against where we finish. We join together to raise money and run for charities that fight cancer, diabetes, and a variety of other illnesses. Moreover, we need each other to succeed in running. This is something that the elites know and practice, as well as the middle and back of the pack runners. Where would we be without the many volunteers who make it possible for us to run a local 5K or pull off a marathon with tens of thousands of racers? How much harder would it be to run if we always had to do it on our own?
If politicians and politically-active individuals and groups truly worked for the common good rather than an increase in personal power and prosperity, it would be a welcome and refreshing change. This type of change would be revolutionary.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
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4 comments:
...Amen.
Well said Mike. You are right in that runners want to support other runners in selfless ways. We do it so support the sport (i.e. the common good) so that others will also support us.
I have to point out that "the common good" is the excuse used by statists, collectivists -- i.e., all the bad people through the history of humanity -- to justify the destruction of the rights and lives of individuals. If you want to be nice to people, you must defend the rights of the individual, regardless of what group, tribe, race, or "common good" they belong to, and do not become a dupe of Socialists and other collectivists who would sacrifice you in the name of "the greater" or "the common" good. I would direct you to the writings of Ayn Rand for further clarification. Thanks. - CT
Sorry about that last comment. It was kind of "hit and run". I accidentally happened across this site, I have no interest in running, and I saw you using the term "the common good", and had a knee-jerk reaction to it. Just ignore me.
No problem, Charles. There is a danger in using a good idea like the common good to impose one's will on others or unduly limit individual freedom. In its best form, though, fostering the true commong good drives important reform to bring more people under the protection of the law and gives them the opporunity to flourish. So it is good for society and the individuals that constitute it.
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