Common good
Topic: Political Theory: Freedom and Rights · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 5 "Rights"
Meaning
The common good is the well-being that all members of a community share. It includes things everyone depends on but no one owns alone, such as the ozone layer, clean air and water, forest cover and ecological balance. NCERT's Class 11 chapter on Rights says rights bring a duty to protect the common good, both for ourselves and for future generations. The Constitution reflects this in Art. 48A, under which the state must protect the environment, forests and wildlife, and in Art. 51A(g), the citizen's duty to protect the natural environment.
Example
Using my right to livelihood by dumping factory waste into a river harms the clean water that a whole town needs. My right does not cover destroying a resource shared by everyone, including people not yet born.
Don't confuse with
- General will (Rousseau): this is the citizens' will aimed at the common good. The common good is the shared well-being itself, not anyone's will about it.