Equal Dignity and the Common Good

Abstract

Common Good Constitutionalism manifests a commitment to equality in two distinct ways. The first is a rejection of any notion of a greater good which pits the individual in conflict with the rest of society. On that view, the purpose of constitutional law is to mediate this tension, protecting the individual from the encroaching collective or sacrificing them for the sake of the majority. In contrast, common good constitutionalism sees the good of the individual and the community as co-constitutive, grounding the basis of a conception of the political order in shared, mutual interest. The second is a deep commitment to the collective flourishing of the polity, presupposing the equal dignity of persons and positing that a constitutional commitment to respecting this dignity demands the embrace of a substantive conception of human flourishing. Together, these commitments form the basis of a constitutionalism capable of making sense of comparative and communitarian claims which are uncomfortably placed within a liberal constitutionalism focused solely on individual rights claims.

Keywords: Common Good, Equality, Dignity, Natural Law