how individual rights and common goods

Over time, government agencies have understood the value of being able to carry out their duties and fulfill their objectives. When a government is established, it creates plans with priorities and deadlines in order to source and coordinate capital. The services are transformed into actions in order to best represent its people. According to Bell (2002), the government plays an important role in setting priorities and objectives to be met, executing the necessary duties, developing a supportive atmosphere for its people, providing the necessary services, and maintaining economic stability. These roles that the government takes up help to ensure that the state and country are moving in the right direction, reducing the cost of production, ensuring that resources are available when and if needed and that the resources are well utilized and finally providing that the environment is favorable to the citizens.

The government performs all these tasks with the aim of ensuring that the individual rights are not infringed and that the common good is maintained. The two functions are critical and should be given more thought and research into when making decisions because it affects a large population. The decision made by the government in relation and consideration of common good and individual rights enables the citizens to feel respected and well catered for which encourages them to participate towards the development of the economy and the government at large. Although performing these tasks costs the government a lot of resources, time and skills, it is a requirement which the government has to look for a way to have it accomplished.

Achievement of common good in the society and government is a principle which has been in existence for an extended period. It is considered as one of the vital recipes to the nations which have co-existed together harmoniously. According to studies done, common good is a term which has gained popularity and wide acceptance because of its ability to unite people of diverse cultures and also because it has been one of the actions which have resulted to peaceful nations.

Governments have incorporated the need to achieve common good in their plans to avoid tragedies which happened in the past. Lack of common good in the past led to challenges which dragged national development and growth because it divided the nation. It led to having various objectives which meant that citizens did not have a central goal. On most occasions, it led to war for example in countries such as Rwanda and Iraq. Lack of common good in government is a narrow approach which should be avoided, and the government should establish means through which common good is nurtured and encouraged.

According to Argandoña (2011), common good refers to binding agreements which have been mutually made to promote a peaceful and enabling environment for the citizens as a whole. It also depends on the ability of the government to merge and intertwine individual goods to come up with a consolidated common good able to cater for everyone. To achieve common good in the nation, Maritain (1966) specified that the government needs to assemble various resources available, laws in existence and culture, blend in consideration of the social factors prevailing. After that, a peaceful and procedural step must be undertaken to merge the various individuals' concerns and environmental factors so that they are well integrated.

The second consideration the government considers which the individuals consider with high regard is the individual rights. According to Heyman (1991), individual right is an important consideration that a government needs to take actions on because it ensures that every individual in the nation is not restricted to enjoy the freedom and be able to manage his/her property in peace without unnecessary interruptions. This was noted from the early days where it was noted that it is crucial to have provided leadership and protection to each citizen individually. It was further pointed out that the government should, therefore, take a front seat in ensuring that the individual rights are met and not infringed. Infringement of the individual rights is a dangerous act which could lead to rifts, a war in between individuals and lack of cooperation which would slow down national growth and development.

According to Morse (1989), there is a great need and realization of the importance of working together as one to accomplish national goals set for the greater good. This means that the government should consider ways of ensuring that individual rights have been safeguarded to give the individuals peace of mind to be able to participate collectively. Each needs to come up with a solution which when merged will play a part in developing the government and solving a problem. Achieving a common purpose is also essential because it empowers the individuals giving them strength in numbers to be able to tackle issues critically and efficiently due to combined skill and strength in numbers. It is therefore essential to establish a balance between common good and individual rights to enhance growth.

Work Cited

Argandoña, Antonio. "The common good." (2011).

Bell, David VJ. "The role of government in advancing corporate sustainability." (2002).

Corral, Margarita. "To What extent should government ensure citizen well-being?." Americas Barometer Insights, Vanderbilt University 16 (2009).

Heyman, Steven J. "First Duty of Government: Protection, Liberty and the Fourteenth Amendment, The." Duke LJ 41 (1991): 507.

Morse, Suzanne W. "Renewing Civic Capacity: Preparing College Students for Service and Citizenship." ERIC Digest. (1989).