Definition
The Common Good Principle is the normative standard that individuals and collective intelligence projects should operate for the benefit of all humanity. Historically rooted in the Protestant “doing good” ethic and civic-mindedness, it asserts that the pursuit of private or organizational success is most virtuous and sustainable when it contributes to the broader welfare of the community.
Why It Matters
It provides a stabilizing moral floor for collective intelligence and prevents individual optimization from destroying the shared system.
Core Concepts
- Idealism and Realism (Warp and Woof): Weaving together national interest and moral narrative.
- Compromise as Moral Virtue: The belief that “parting with some of one’s own demands” is not a sign of weakness, but a moral imperative rooted in respect for others and the preservation of the system.
- Doubting Infallibility: The practice of “doubting a little of one’s own judgment” to allow for the collective wisdom of a group to emerge.
- Civic Virtue as Divinity: Rooted in Cotton Mather’s Bonifacius.
- Matching Grant Tactic: Doubling incentive through public-private leverage.
- Public-Private Partnerships: Agility of associations combined with the scale of government.