Common Good Philosophy Vs Natural Rights Essay

559 Words3 Pages

All throughout history there have been many conflicting political philosophies. There are two, however, which have gained the most recognition. These are the common good philosophy and the natural rights philosophy. Both philosophies have their own views. The natural rights philosophy, for instance, is the belief that government should only have the power that is given to them by the people. The common good philosophy, however, is the belief that the government should hold as much power as they possibly need in order to deliver the best possible outcome to their people. Both philosophies stress their own ideas, both positive and negative. The common good philosophy is the belief that man should do all that he does in order to better the life of not just himself, but the people around him. This has many good things and many bad things. One of the positives is that this will make it so that all humans are equal, and have the same opportunities, regardless of race, sex, religion, or situation. The negative, however, is the fact that no man can …show more content…

The conflict is that, while both believe in human equality, the natural rights philosophy stresses the fact that some men can excel, while the common good philosophy stresses that all men are equal in every way- socially, economically, etc. The natural rights philosophy also stresses behaviour with self-interest at heart, while the common good philosophy discourages such actions. I believe that the natural rights philosophy is far superior to the common good philosophy. I believe this because the natural rights philosophy allows people to move ahead in life and become successful, while the common good philosophy discourages that. It is necessary for people to excel, because without higher knowledge and higher achievements we would not have new inventions or new and better ways of