The common good is defined as—“the most good for all people.” Aristotle first conceived it, but Thomas Aquinas, a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic philosopher, honed it well as a Christian conception for how Christians ought to live alongside others who were different in society. This strict definition of the common good doesn’t prefer one human being over another; instead, it values all human life and wants what is best for all people—Christian or not. How can we remain rooted in the Gospel as we advance the common good?
