The Common Good Is Not a Radical Idea

We’ve made basic decency sound like a political position.

Talk about helping people and someone will call you a socialist. Mention equity and you’ll be accused of playing identity politics. Say “we’re all in this together” and someone will roll their eyes like you just handed out free hugs and tax hikes.

But here’s the thing:

Caring about the common good is not radical. It’s foundational.

We Used to Know This

You don’t have to go back to some mythical golden age to remember when community mattered. When we paved roads, built schools, fought diseases, and protected parks — because those things were good for everyone.

Somewhere along the way, we swapped out shared responsibility for rugged individualism, stripped of its nuance and weaponized into selfishness.

Helping others stopped being patriotic and started being suspect.

The Individual vs. Everyone Else

The problem isn’t that we value personal freedom. It’s that we’ve let the idea of freedom get twisted into a zero-sum game. The mindset goes: “If you get something, I must be losing something.”

This isn’t just wrong — it’s corrosive.

A healthy society isn’t a zero-sum equation. Justice, opportunity, and basic human dignity aren’t finite resources. Your rights don’t shrink just because someone else finally gets access to theirs.

The whole point of society is that we get things done together we couldn’t do alone. That includes safety, justice, education, infrastructure, clean air, and yes, compassion.

We’re Not as Divided as We Think

Most people, when you get past the slogans and noise, agree on a surprising amount. They want fairness. They want opportunity. They want dignity. And yes, they want freedom. But freedom without compromise isn’t democracy — it’s chaos.

We’ve been conditioned to see compromise as weakness. It’s not. It’s the only way people with different lives, different values, and different needs share a country. Real strength isn’t in winning every argument — it’s in learning how to live with people you don’t always agree with.

The idea that cooperation means surrender has made it nearly impossible to govern, to solve problems, or to move forward. We need to reframe compromise as a patriotic act — not a political liability.

Self-Interest Can Still Be Shared Interest

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of yourself and your family. But those interests don’t have to be in conflict with your neighbors’. In fact, they often align.

Good schools, reliable healthcare, a stable climate, honest government — these aren’t zero-sum. They lift everyone. Including you.

What doesn’t lift everyone is when people try to force their personal beliefs or moral codes onto others. Everyone should have the right to live their lives how they see fit — within the law. That’s the foundation of freedom. But some people want to exclude others from that same right.

We should be clear-eyed about the difference: some people want to include. Others want to exclude. One side says, “You belong.” The other says, “Only if you act like me.”

There’s a line I heard once that stuck with me: “I’d rather be excluded for who I include than included for who I exclude.” That’s the kind of self-interest we need more of — the kind rooted in fairness, not fear.

A Future Worth Building Is One We Build Together

The common good isn’t about charity. It’s about structure. About building a system where we all have a stake — and where those with more are expected to carry a little more, not because it’s nice, but because it’s fair.

We can’t keep pretending that taking care of each other is extreme. That’s the line people use when they’re trying to hoard what they have.

Let’s stop acting like decency is controversial.

Let’s bring the common good back to the center — where it’s always belonged.