What is a Good Society?
“Paths are made by walking” (Franz Kafka); thus, societies are made by the people living in them. The concept of a good society depends on the “paths” the society walks along, and therefore, the paths of the individual and what they walk on. A society is good when it cares about being good. It is good when it cares about doing the right thing, when it is “becoming,” as per the theory of becoming in metaphysics. A good society is one where both the people and the government believe in their importance, finding their place and meaning within it. Collectively and individually, they are integrated into a commitment to upholding both justice and mercy.
Metaphysics and the Theory of Becoming
The optimization of the metaphysical aspect of society can be found in the theory of becoming. If paths are made by walking, we need a place to walk towards: telos. This is the means by which individuals and society fulfill private happiness and public happiness, more readily known as the common good.
“In ordinary political discourse, the ‘common good’ refers to those facilities, whether material, cultural, or institutional, that the members of a community provide to all members in order to fulfill a relational obligation they all have to care for certain interests that they have in common” (Hussain, 2024).
In other words, citizens and the government must care about morality; this is the foundation of a good society. As change is the fundamental process of humanity, becoming is fundamental to a society; as goodness isn't a sedentary destination or a picture-perfect utopia, rather it is a continual movement towards what fundamental goodness is, the qualities that care about both justice and mercy.
Ethics, Aristotle, Telos, and the Individual’s Role in Society
Aristotle was a firm believer that ethics and society were integral and couldn't be separated from one another. Aristotle believed that we each have inside of us our own goal, or telos. This realization and fruition is necessary for a happy and therefore “good” life, which is how it is most frequently translated, but “flourishing life” is more accurate to what Aristotle meant. A good society is where both the people and government believe in their importance, that they have a place and meaning in it. Each individual in a society must feel and come to the realization that they have a purpose not only in their private life but also in their public life; this makes for a productive member of society. Telos is only realized when we face our flaws and decide to do something about them. Just like on the individual level of facing our flaws, on the collective and societal level, this also must be realized. Society should work towards the golden mean for the greater good of its citizens, like Aristotle’s theory suggests.
Epistemology and How We Know What Is Good for a Society
“Other men’s opinions floating in one’s brain” do not constitute genuine knowledge (Locke, 1689/1975). Just as John Locke’s quote suggests, we often rely on others for the pursuit of truth; not many individuals’ thoughts are truly their own or originate within themselves, but rather are commonly cultural. Epistemology is cultivated to be made known as morally true. The solution to achieving the common good, actually being good, was mostly solved by religious practices that were ingrained in society (even though there certainly were still a lot of moral failures that society chose to uphold in the cultural epistemology). A great example of this is actually the late period in 1900s America, where America was united under Christianity, specifically Protestantism, or at least its “brand” of Protestantism, as the country's main religion that also acts as its dictator for its epistemological beliefs, telling the citizens what is good and why it is so.
“Post-Civil War was a Protestant Empire… an era of unshakable confidence… Protestantism, it just wasn't faith; it was more of the cultural oxygen. American Protestantism was sort of like the foundation of what it meant to be a leader at this time. If you were somebody who was of influence, you were Protestant. The King James Bible was taught in school, the blue laws were in effect for business closing on Sundays, to be American was to be Christian in many ways… There was no difference between political liberals and political conservatives within the Evangelical movement,” (Sola Media, 2026, 1:48 ). This shows how dominant cultural aspects of epistemological thought can be used to ‘justify’ immoral behaviour in a culture by presenting the culture's prejudices as self-evident truth.
Modern Canada is currently a great example of how a society can have good epistemology when it isn’t united under a single religion, as there is now a diverse amount of religions and non-religious affiliations in Canada. As social epistemology is concerned with the pursuit of truth, it is also concerned with collectives and groups of individuals pursuing it; therefore, communication and critique are important in how, even with a diverse set of beliefs, a country’s and society’s epistemology can still be active and exist. This is, of course, only possible because of the particular way the Canadian government is formed and the effects that Christianity and its ethical values have had on Canada as a people and nation, such as tolerance for other beliefs and religions and respecting the notion of the biblical “Imago Dei.”
Socio-Political Dilemma
Socio-political philosophy and the common good, more modernly known as communitarianism, state that the “material” of a society should be shared among its rulers and citizens. What is good is intrinsically bound to the moral values and character of a society, and a society is good when people care about doing the right thing (in line with becoming). This creates the dilemma for goodness and telos. As seen in multiple historical accounts, “goodness” is subjective. A popular example that is routinely pointed out is the Holocaust, where giving over your neighbour to the government to be tortured was seen as good because you were obeying authority. Currently, in North Korea, it is similar, as it is under a totalitarian regime where corrupted morals and a corrupt government go hand in hand, therefore making the fruition of finding and manifesting the telos inside of us a daunting and challenging task. But everyone who is seeking to flourish and obtain telos faces the challenge of seeking it. Just as a person begins to become good once they proceed forth in actualizing goodness, a society is good when it is “becoming.” As per the theory of becoming in metaphysics, the constant movement of moving forward into goodness is what makes a society good, and the movement you are going in is the place where you are now.The common good concept is ultimately pivotal in society, causing the individual to care about the common good of society. This concept also covers how, both in the public and private sense, the common good is considered by individuals, no matter what role, from political leaders to the common citizen, they may have.
“The prominence of the concept has diminished as social scientists and philosophers have suggested that a single conception of the common good is incompatible with the pluralism of modern societies" (Mansbridge & Boot, 2022). Without a shared theological or metaphysical foundation, it is challenging to justify moral obligations. In response to this concern, theorists have suggested that the common good could be productively conceived as an ideal that is the subject of deliberation, contestation, and critique. The argument of what goodness is is intrinsically attached to philosophical theology; thus Fyodor Dostoevsky says, “If anything protects society... it is Christ's law alone, which manifests itself in the acknowledgement of one's own conscience,” and “If there is no God, everything is permitted,” (The Brothers Karamazov) reinforcing the idea that it is our actions that we choose every day, individually and collectively as a society, that makes what a good society is, collectively and individually caring about justice and mercy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is up to the individuals who make up a society to create a good one, holding morals front and center. It is up to the society’s form of government to encourage and perpetuate the community's moral growth in order to create a good society. It is our actions that we choose every day, individually and collectively as a society, that make what a good society is—collectively and individually caring about justice and mercy.
References
Hussain, W. (2024). The common good. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 ed.). Stanford University. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/common-good/
Locke, J. (1975). An essay concerning human understanding (P. H. Nidditch, Ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1689).
Mansbridge, J., & Boot, E. R. (2022). The common good. Public Organization Review, 22(4), 1033–1046. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-022-00669-1
Ferrarello, S. (2024, September 9). Philosophy Pill—Is Goodness a Matter of Character? Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0HimcFJ35g
Sola Media. (2026, April 19). The crises that created Christian fundamentalism [Video]. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdqbmw4lifI
That's all folks! This essay was from a course I recently took; I thought those who like to read about philosophy might like it even though it is not explicitly Christian. If you enjoyed my essay, feel free to share it and/or leave a comment below. I'd love to hear your perspective on what a good society is from your perspective! ❤❤❤
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