Foundations of Society: Civil Society, Common Good, and Human Rights

Concept of Society

The political community and civil society, although mutually connected and interdependent, are not equal in the hierarchy of ends. The political community is essentially at the service of civil society and, in the final analysis, the persons and groups of which civil society is composed. Civil society, therefore, cannot be considered an extension or a changing component of the political community; rather, it has priority because it is in civil society itself that the political community finds its justification.

Civil society is the sum of relationships and resources, cultural and associative, that are relatively independent from the political sphere and the economic sector. The purpose of civil society is universal, since it concerns the common good, to which each and every citizen has a right in due proportion. Society is essential to the fulfillment of the human vocation.

To attain this aim, respect must be accorded to the just hierarchy of values, which subordinates physical and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones. It is necessary, then, to appeal to the spiritual and moral capacities of the human person and to the permanent need for inner conversion, so as to obtain social changes that will truly serve humanity.

The State must provide an adequate legal framework for social subjects to engage freely in their different activities. It must also be ready to intervene, when necessary and with respect for the principle of subsidiarity, so that the interplay between free associations and democratic life may be directed to the common good.

Christian Values and Societal Principles

Key Christian values and ideas that shape society include:

• Defending and protecting human rights
• Promoting the common good
• Upholding natural law
• Recognizing human dignity
• Fostering civil friendship and fraternity
• Adhering to the principle of subsidiarity

The Common Good and Community

The common good is the good shared by all. The highest good a society could have is virtue, because then there would be fair laws, and people would practice solidarity and help each other.

The social nature of the human person indicates that the betterment of the person and the improvement of society depend on each other. The goods of the earth are gifts, so that all created things must be shared fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice and charity.

We need to build a society in which our economic development goes hand in hand with our social progress for the common good.