The public good - a moral commitment

Contributors to this month's Public Theology Forum, an ecumenical group of ministers of religion and theologians, were Garnett Roper, Burchell Taylor, Stotrell Lowe, Richmond Nelson, Marjorie Lewis, Anna Perkins and Byron Chambers, coordinator.

So there's always been this clash between what is the public good - that which belongs to all of us in common - and what can be exploited for a private interest. -- Neil Abercrombie

The foregoing quotation by Neil Abercrombie aptly enunciates the dilemma in which Jamaica finds itself today. Our country is currently faced with certain critical issues which are both profoundly urgent and challenging. The global turmoil facing countries, evidenced by economic, social and political upheaval, would have convinced us that the current crises facing Jamaica have not been unexpected and, therefore, should come as no surprise.

The question, therefore, is whether these many challenges are being approached in a manner or on a basis that represents the common good. Is there a clear vision of the public good which represents the expectations, goals and aspirations of our people as a whole?

If there is no such vision, is there a moral obligation on the part of our leaders to ensure that this concept of the public good permeates every aspect of decision-making which affects the political process, the private sector, the public sector, special-interest and sectarian groups which are all part of the landscape of this Jamaica, land we love?

NO CLEAR VISION

We would like to suggest that there is a clear absence of an overall vision of the public good - that definitive perspective on what individuals, diverse groups and the nation as a whole, have come to regard as the common good, to be achieved and benefited from and through community solidarity and commitment.

Many individuals and sectoral and other interest groups have instituted programmes and policies and made statements claiming to embody a view of the public good, advocating those views in terms of their own agendas and their own peculiar understanding of the issues. However, very often, the public good is compromised because of the divergent competing, conflicting, contending and often mutually exclusive bases on which they operate.

Response to the current economic challenges and its attendant consequences has exposed, in a fresh and urgent way, that there is a crisis of the public good. Nowhere is the need for a clear vision of a policy of public good seen than the conditionalities attached to the recently concluded International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement.

Even as there is some consensus that this 'bitter pill' must be swallowed as a necessary consequence to achieving any hope of economic and social survival and well-being, our leaders must understand that success will only come with community solidarity and a feeling of common cause that rise above sectoral, partisan, class and sectarian interests.

SHARED COMMITMENT

The time is now for a shared commitment to the public good and it must rest on a vision forged by disciplined, collective consultation and discourse, inclusive of contributions from a wide cross section of our society. Affirmative action must be taken to facilitate those who, through no fault of their own, cannot naturally participate, but whose destiny, nonetheless, is bound up with any decisions taken.

In the same vein, action must be taken to resist powerful and influential groups who seek to manipulate the system and sacrifice the common good on the altar of their own self-interest. All interest groups must find common cause in relation to this effort.

Civility is considered one of the bulwarks of human society and is an absolute necessary virtue in our pursuit of the public good. It is critical to achieving and sustaining the desired consensus for pursuing the social harmony that will allow us to achieve our goals. At the same time, we are convinced that incivility - in any form and from any source - constitutes a real threat to our very existence and must be avoided deliberately and decisively.

Civility is more than common courtesy; it is a moral obligation of due respect for the dignity and worth of others in social encounters and interactions. It honours people's right to express themselves in disagreements and objectively share divergent opinions without being subject to demeaning, and derisive behaviour. Any behaviour that embodies incivility is an enemy of the public good.

If the goals of the National Development Plan 'Vision 2030 Jamaica' are to be achieved where Jamaica is seen as the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business, a deliberate, concerted effort must be made by all to act in a way that ensures that the public good is not compromised at any level.

By any definition, then, the public good will find expression in a common life characterised by what is politically responsible, economically equitable, socially just and harmonious, environmentally sustainable and culturally mature.

Sacrifice then will not be imposed largely upon the weak and disadvantaged, but will be borne by everyone, with the strong and powerful, in proportion to their presenting position of advantage. The ethic of reciprocity so ably articulated in the Gospels implores us to treat others the way we would like to be treated. The public good will always be ensured if we follow this maxim.

It must be the moral imperative of our leaders, therefore, to ensure that the demands of self-interest and narrow partisan aspirations are never at the forefront of decision-making and policy.

They must also be mindful that the Jamaican people will hold them accountable if they do not, at all times, ensure the public good, based on participatory decision-making, community solidarity, and a sense of common destiny.

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