Common Good

Does the Invisible Hand Really Know Best?

Jeffrey Abelson | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Adam Smith, Laissez Faire, Thomas Friedman, Philosophy, Markets, Michael Sandel, Philosopher, Democracy, Conservative, Liberal, Good Society, Libertarian, Michael Gerson, Harvard, What Money Can't Buy, Moral, Common Good, Invisible Hand, Freedom, Moral Limits, E.J. Dionne, Free Market, Justice, Book Reviews, Books News
Jeffrey Abelson

Is the free market really free? Or does it come at the expense of civic values we neglect at our peril? That's one of many questions I found myself pondering after reading What Money Can't Buy by Michael J. Sandel.

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Listening for the Voice of Aslan

Jim Wallis | Posted 04.12.2012

Read More: Elections 2012, Immigration, Presidential Candidates, Faith and Politics, Human Trafficking, Common Good, Politics News
Jim Wallis

Instead of voting for the candidates, the parties, and the Super-PACs, a new generation of believers will be voting for their values, their friends, and their own voices -- voting for us. And that is hopeful to me.

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Obama's Communitarianism

Gary Dorrien | Posted 05.04.2012

Read More: Barack Obama, Community Organizing, Common Good, Obama Debt Ceiling, Liberalism, Communitarianism, Politics News
Gary Dorrien

Since the debt ceiling debacle of July 2011, Obama has gotten clearer that he cannot have a successful presidency if he does not push harder for equality and the common good.

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The Ways of Love

Mitchell J. Rabin | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Leadership, Politics, Generosity, Common Good, Erotica, Love and Relationships, Valentine's Day, Love, Agape, Healthy Living News
Mitchell J. Rabin

Let's give love its proper place, and I daresay that we would have a different, much happier, more balanced and harmonious, just world if we were all more in touch with the archetypal energy behind these forms of love.

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The Joke That Isn't Funny: Campaign 2012

Peter Block | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: Helen Hodgson Brown, National Debt, Common Good, Peter Block, Republican Primary Campaign 2012, Mitt Romney, The Web of Debt, Banking Reform, Newt Gingrich, 2012 Election, Republican Presidential Candidates, Elections 2012, Republican Presidential Primary, Politics News
Peter Block

We have the two leading candidates running against the government. Their marketing strategists have decided that their best chance of winning is to ride a real or imagined wave of contempt that people have for the competence of their own government.

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Searching For The Common Good In Political Discourse

Frank G. Kirkpatrick | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Puritanism, Evangelical Christianity, Mitt Romney Mormonism, Christian Ethics, Common Good, Roman Catholicism, Religion and Politics, Religion News
Frank G. Kirkpatrick

The irony in the ideas of the Republican candidates is that the traditional teachings of Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, and even evangelical Protestantism give a moral priority to the common good over the private good.

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Off the SOPA Box and Into the Town Square

Lorelei Kelly | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Pipa, House of Representatives, Opengov, Representative Government, Democracy, Congress, Public Interest, Ota, Privacy, Techpresident, Secrecy, Transparency, Sopa, Common Good, Town Square, Technology, Senate, Politics News
Lorelei Kelly

The Internet blackout was an innovation for sure, but it still belongs in the category of advocacy politics that I'll called "Surround and Punish." What is missing is something the military calls "situational awareness."

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"Everyone Is Called to One Common Human Vocation -- That of Being a Good Citizen and a Thoughtful Human Being..."

Lydia Fisher | Posted 03.05.2012

Read More: Humanism, Cinderella of Wall Street, Vaclav Havel, Financial Reform, Eurozone Debt Crisis, Good Citizenry, Bailout, Common Good, Ethics, Financial Crisis, Morality, Global Financial Crisis, Mortimer Adler, Business News, Lydia Fisher, Spirituality, Inspiration, Business News
Lydia Fisher

Too old-fashioned? Or, is there a take-away here? Well, let's take a look.

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How to Teach Children to Lose by Winning

Peter Block | Posted 02.07.2012

Read More: Community Building, Collaboration, Neighborhood Values, Community, Sports Culture, Competitive Culture, Alfie Kohn, Competition, Abundant Community, Common Good, Cooperation, Peter Block, Winning Mentality, College Education, John McKnight, Asset-Based Community Development, Popular Culture, Common Interest, Neighborhood Building, Educating Children, Parents News
Peter Block

Whether playing or watching sports, the name of the game is the same: who wins?

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Green Mountain Conversion

Thomas Worcester | Posted 02.01.2012

Read More: Benedict XVI, Common Good, Vermont, Conversion, Solidarity, Green Mountain, Green Faith, Green Vermont, Vermont Green Mountain, Vermont Environment, Religion News
Thomas Worcester

Are the monks and the sisters but marginal Catholics in these concerns? I dare say that they are not. In recent years Pope Benedict XVI has made some important statements about respect for the environment.

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Take My Wealth, Please: One Percenters Who Fight For The 99 Percent

Posted 12.01.2011

Read More: 99 Percent, New York Mercantile Exchange, Video, Common Good, Institute for Policy Studies' Program, Robert S. Halper, Dailyfinance, Ows, Middle Class, Occupy Wall Street, Zuccotti Park, Upper Class, Business News

By Bruce Watson AOL Daily Finance Occupy Wall Street is slowing down a bit as winter sets in, but the conversation it inspired is still gaining m...

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The Fall of JoePa and a Return to Common Sense

Peter Block | Posted 01.11.2012

Read More: Competition, Community Building, Abundant Community, Common Good, Peter Block, Winning Mentality, John McKnight, Asset-Based Community Development, Community, Popular Culture, Common Interest, Penn State University, Sports Culture, Competitive Culture, Joe Paterno, Sports, Child Abuse, Competition in Education, College Football, Penn State Scandal, Joe Paterno Fired, Penn State, Sports News
Peter Block

Every community has many more things to be proud of than a young person's ability to run, jump, throw, and catch. Sport does not build character, it puts character at risk. Sport is just fun.

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The Spiritual Similarities Between Steve Jobs And George Harrison

Douglas LaBier | Posted 12.22.2011

Read More: Success, Steve Jobs, Common Good, Midlife, George Harrison, Adulthood, Spirituality, Steve Jobs Lessons, Healthy Living Mind, Self-Growth, Consciousness, Happiness, Steve Jobs Death, Materialism, Healthy Living News
Douglas LaBier

Both Jobs and Harrison embody different yet similar ways in which all of us can grow and develop towards becoming more fully human. You know when you're on that path -- your inner-self recognizes it.

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The Abandoned Class

Robert Koehler | Posted 12.20.2011

Read More: Violence, Public Interest, Peacekeeping, Poverty, Common Good, Gangs, Enlightened Self-Interest, Occupy Wall Street, Politics News
Robert Koehler

Will Occupy Wall Street hold together long enough to cut to the deep chase?

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Private Sector Conscription: Can Mandatory Company Service Work?

Nicole Lapin | Posted 11.22.2011

Read More: Common Good, Capitalism, Private Conscription, Ceos, Business News
Nicole Lapin

In a time of fear-based, dog-eat-dog capitalism, why in the world would the stewards of the free marketplace give their stuff or services away for the common good?

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Change Making

Al Checchi | Posted 11.20.2011

Read More: American Bipartisanship, Leadership, Bipartisanship, Common Good, US Political Reform, Leadership Reform, Institutional Change, US Political Leadership, Leadership Change, Political Leadership, Politics News
Al Checchi

Many Americans fear that we are at a tipping point and our best days are behind us. I believe that the fundamental strength of our country is undiminished. It is our political leadership that is failing us.

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What Are the Emotional Drivers of Our National Unraveling?

Douglas LaBier | Posted 10.11.2011

Read More: Leadership, Fear, Common Good, Empathy, Drew Westen, Psychology, Tea Party, Barack Obama, Chris Matthews, Politics News
Douglas LaBier

A major psychological source originates in people's responses to the crumbling of an overall way of life that's pretty much predominated throughout the 20th Century. Dealing with these shifts can have frightening impact.

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Washington vs. America

Brent Budowsky | Posted 09.27.2011

Read More: Foreclosures, Taxes, Corruption, Roy Spence, Market Crash, Social Security, Selfishness, Jobs, Sense of Purpose, Joblessness, Gridlock, Surrender, Jobs Program, Self Interest, Barack Obama, Common Good, Debt Limit, Banana Republic, Principle, Capitulation, Bond Rating Downgrade, Washington, John Boehner, Stock Market, Medicare, Democratic Base, Foreclosure Aid, Wall Street, Politics News
Brent Budowsky

Washington is an island drowning in its own self-interest, surrounded by a hurting and unhappy nation of deeply patriotic citizens who hunger for shared national purpose but find our politics to be sickening, insulting and corrupted.

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It's the Values, Stupid!

Bob Burnett | Posted 08.31.2011

Read More: U.S. Economy, Rugged Individualism, Progressive Values, Common Good, Shared Sacrifice, Values, Economy, President Obama, Van Jones, Barack Obama, Republicans, Politics News
Bob Burnett

Americans recognize that in a vital democracy each of us has a voice; that for all our voices to be heard -- rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, blue state and red state -- we must treat each other with respect. Democracy is at risk. To defend it, Americans must reclaim our core values.

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The Psychology Behind the Right's Fear of the Future

Douglas LaBier | Posted 06.18.2011

Read More: Politics, Social Change, Common Good, Globalization, Psychology, Tea Party, Republicans, Politics News
Douglas LaBier

When people become scared, or when their view of who they are feels turned upside down, they may unconsciously retreat into beliefs and behavior that promise restoration of what feels lost or endangered.

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To 'Win The Future' We Must Redefine 'Success'

Douglas LaBier | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Greed, Common Good, Obama SOTU, President Obama, Inner Life, Careers, Win the Future, Work-Life Balance, State of the Union 2011, The American Dream, Ronald Reagan, Financial Success, Success, Success in America, American Dream 2011, Ronald Reagan Quotes, American Dream, Healthy Living News
Douglas LaBier

To meet the challenges of our "Sputnik moment," we need to revamp our thinking about what success is, as well as what psychological orientation is necessary to achieve it.

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Will the Commons Become Tragic?

Gary Hart | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Economic System, Greed, Morality, Capitalism, Common Good, Human Nature, Politics News
Gary Hart

Every man for himself would be a rational approach if men and women were merely economic creatures. But there is also such a thing as moral man, who confronts the necessity of protecting the commons and preventing tragedy brought on by greed.

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President Obama Should Have Fought This One

Jim Wallis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President, Small Business, Philosophy, Wealthy, President Obama, Jim Wallis, Goldman Sachs, Tax Rates, National Debate, National, Middle Class, Redistribution of Wealth, Compromise, Banking Industry, America, Republican, Payroll Tax, Letter to the President, Wealth, Refundable Tax Credits, Bailout, Common Good, Values, Socialized, Economic Inequality, History, Equality, Moral Compass, Economics, Trade, American History, Politics, Families, Religious Leaders, Rediscovering Values, Sojomail, Barack Obama, Wealthiest Americans, Self Interest, Wall Street, Sojourner, Blog, Ceo, Bottom to the Top, Middle Class Tax, Working Families, Socialism, Republicans, Inequality, Politics News
Jim Wallis

Obama has again bent to the economic philosophy that rewards the casino gamblers on Wall Street and leaves the majority of the country standing outside the casino with a tin cup -- hoping that the gamblers are at least big tippers.

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It Takes A Movement: The Next Steps

Jim Wallis | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Political Spectrum, White House, Undocumented Immigrants, Midterm Election, Children, Washington, Middle Class, Political Leadership, It Takes a Movement, Mobilization, Movement, Common Good, Values, Political Aisle, Climate Change, Religious Leader, American Politics, Gays and Lesbians, Healthy Families, Teaching, Poverty in America, Congregations, Family Friendly Policies, Moral Compass, Scapegoating, Education, Income Women, Creation Care, Community, Election, Religious Leaders, Rediscovering Values, Gay Teens, Number of Abortions in America, Moral Issues, Faith Community, Unwanted Pregnancies, Political Leader, Ethics, Undocumented Immigrant, Terrorism, Obama Administration, Religion News
Jim Wallis

Neither the left nor the right has the answers to our most pressing problems, though each will continue to say that it does. So we have to focus on the spiritual and moral values that bring us together.

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Are Policies That Serve the Common Good Un-American?

Douglas LaBier | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Greed, Politics, Political Psychology, Public Interest, Common Good, Tea Party, Un-American, Politics News
Douglas LaBier

One likely spin-off from the recent election will be a creeping redefinition of programs and policies that serve the common good as "un-American." So...

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