As a sense of community is eroding, concern for the common good declines. This is an obvious danger in an age of individualism. A proper communitarian concern is the antidote to unbridled individualism, which, like unrestrained selfishness in personal relations, can destroy balance, harmony, and peace within and between groups, neighborhoods, regions, and nations. The common good, the good of society as a whole, can be likened to the balance that is not simply desirable but necessary for both wheel and tire on an automobile. Out of balance means trouble ahead.
Perfect balance means safe progress whenever the wheels are in motion.
Both driver and mechanic take the whole tire, the entire wheel, into consideration when they inspect the tires for safety and road readiness. It makes the point that recent teaching presents two complementary themes relative to this concept, namely, the obligation of the individual to contribute to the common good, and the right of the individual to participate in the benefits of society. Anyone who takes a moment to reflect on the fact that more than 44 million Americans participate in no health insurance program today will be forgiven for expressing outrage at this obvious assault on the principle of the common good. For better or worse, all of us in the human community are in the same boat. All of us have to work to keep it afloat and pull our respective oars if progress is to be achieved.