In the words of a major Socialist, Robert Reich we are here for the Common Good. He’s wrong. Massively wrong. We must take care of ourselves before we are any good to anyone else so the idea that we are here for the common good makes no sense. In fact, it’s non-sense. Reich said: “The idea of the common good was once widely understood and accepted in America. After all, the U.S. Constitution was designed for “We the people” seeking to “promote the general welfare” – not for “me the selfish jerk seeking as much wealth and power as possible.” He didn’t get the basic idea that before we the people can do anything we have to take care of ourself. That’s because the entire idea of “Rights” doesn’t begin with all of us. It begins with each of us and that means the individual. A group of individuals cannot act as a group. Only an individual can act. Only an individual has rights. Groups have power which is controlled only by the idea of Rights which depend not on power but on the characteristics of each individual as an individual. The fact that individuals can act together means each must act on their own.>
Reich wants to start in the middle, with a group. That’s not how it works. Just as a wood beam consists of many individual cells, a group consists of many individuals. Reich says: “The common good consists of our shared values about what we owe one another as citizens who are bound together in the same society. A concern for the common good – keeping the common good in mind – is a moral attitude. It recognizes that we’re all in it together.”
“If there is no common good, there is no society.” Wrong Robert. Without the individual there is society.
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