The (Un)Common Good

“Do not go left.  Do not go right.  Go deeper.”

James E. Wallis Jr. (born June 4, 1948) is an American theologian, writer, teacher and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine and as the founder of the Washington, DC based Christian community of the same name.  In 1971, the Sojourners magazine was first published to promote informed discussion of social justice concepts and respective supportive movements.  Dr. Wallis has written and published at least 12 books.

In 2008, Wallis was quoted as saying: "I would suggest that the Bible is neither "conservative" nor "liberal" as we understand those terms in a political context today ... It is traditional or conservative on issues of family values, sexual integrity, and personal responsibility, while being progressive, populist, or even radical on issues like poverty and racial justice".[10][better source needed]  In 2021, after founding and leading Sojourners for 50 years, Rev. Dr. Jim Wallis accepted an invitation from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy to serve as the inaugural chair and founding director of the Center on Faith and Justice. (Wikipedia)

The (Un)Common Good was first published in 2013-14.  Franciscan Father Richard Rohr, the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, NM writes in an introductory comment to the book, “There are few people on the scene who can put together mature Christianity with mature politics without compromising either.  Jim Wallis does it best – and does it again here.”

Wallis writes in the preface, “I believe the prerequisite for solving the deepest problems this country and the world now face is a commitment to an ancient idea whose time has urgently come: the ‘common good.’”  In defining the common good, he writes, “(T)he common good is a vision drawn from the heart of our religious traditions that allows us to make our faith public but not narrowly partisan…. Fighting for political ideology and self-interest has replaced finding solutions to problems or practicing the ethics of public service…  (T)he public discussion we must have about the common good concerns not just politics but all decisions we make in our personal, familial, vocational, financial, congregational, communal, and yes, public lives.  It is these individual and communal choices that will ultimately create the cultural shifts and social movements that can change the world and turn history in different directions… For Christians, the idea of common good derives from Jesus’ command to love our neighbors – including the ‘least’ of these… When people of faith actually say and do what their faith says they should, two things happen: people are surprised and then they are attracted (especially the young).”

Wallis begins the book by examining the historical and theological foundations and definitions of the “common good.”  Implementation of discussions by conservatives and liberals (religious or non-religious) around defining the common good must include the ethic of civility.  For example, what is the biblical role of government?  What is a moral economy?  What does social justice actually mean?  A commitment to civility is paramount to success of these discussions.  The book ends with a list of ten personal decisions, which have passed what the author describes as the “real life” street test that we can all make to promote the common good.

While the mid-term elections are behind us, the call to promote the “common good” still rings loudly.  As Wallis writes, “Do not go left.  Do not go right.  Go deeper.”