Resolved: As a general principle, individuals have an obligation to value the common good above their own concerns.

Thomas Hobbes would hold that self-preservation legitimately translates into the unlimited natural right to anything and everything whatsoever that guarantees it. Most Americans would declare that a reasonable person has only one choice: honoring the public good. These are but two of the arguments in a collection of articles that extends from a discourse on morality to questioning whether there exists a clearly defined “common good” as it relates to controversial issues.

In this collection, some of the finest minds examine morality, justice, and responsibility, and what seems an obvious answer becomes eminently questionable. How much of one’s sense of honor is inculcated by religion and government? Does the common good violate our instinct for self-preservation, or does acting in the interest of the common good serve self-interest?

Here, at last, you have the definitive answer – for every position.