Augustine and the common good

Classical (Greco-Roman) political thought knew the concept of the common good as an ideal in civic life which was as unquestioned as it was unattainable. In City of God 19 Augustine mercilessly deconstructs the myth of ancient civic virtue and, taking Rome as example, lays bare the crisis and failure of the ancient civic project. He replaces it with a broader and at the same time deeper vision. His scope is the whole of humanity, the law of nature and the law of nations. He explores in principle the human condition and analyses basic concepts such as the private vs. the public, the common vs. the particular, institutions such as marriage and family, and socio-economic phenomena such as labour and leisure, poverty and wealth. This chapter discusses these and other aspects of Augustine’s teaching on the common good and attempts a brief outlook on its continuing relevance