THE IDEA OF ‘‘COMMON GOOD’’ AND THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN PRESENT DAY SOCIAL ECONOMICS

This paper explores the meaning of the idea of common good as used in the classical political tradition in order to study its role in the present political economy. It first analyses the received meaning of the term ‘‘common good’’ in economics with the help of a brief sketch of its historical development. Subsequently, some analysis of the notion is performed and related to some existing economic literature. Its relevance and limitations, due to incomparability with some mainstream economics, will be underlined. As the idea of common good connects individual behaviour to some collective notion of ‘‘good’’, the paper will discuss the relationship between the idea of common good and the role of the state in the economy.