The Notion of the Common Good

“When there is no shared morality, there is no society. Instead, there are subgroups, and hence identity politics. In the absence of shared ideals, many conclude that the best way of campaigning is to damage your opponent by ad hominem attacks. The result is division, cynicism and a breakdown of trust. The world is divided into people like us and the people not like us, and what is lost is the notion of the common good. When the ‘I’ takes precedence over the ‘We’, the result is weakened relationships, marriages, families, communities, neighbourhoods, congregations, charities, regions and entire societies.”

Morality, pp. 17-18