The Common Good

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I – The common good is the principal that what is good for the many outweighs what is only good for the few or the one. 

II – The advancement of the common good necessarily benefits each individual as the common good benefits all.

III – Actions that prevent pain, suffering, hardship, and horror serve the common good. 

IV – Actions that create and ensure the basic rights and freedoms serve the common good.

V – Actions that create persistence serve the common good.

VI – Actions that create worth serve the common good. 

VII – Actions that create quality serve the common good.

VIII – Actions that create merit serve the common good. 

IX – Actions that create or assign meaning serve the common good.

X – Actions that create cooperation serve the common good.

XI – Actions that create thrift serve the common good. 

XII – Working toward the common good is the mechanism by which we will persist and advance.  

I – Your conscious actions are your own, as such hold yourself to account in all things. 

II – Right action and wrong action are not subjective concepts in highly intelligent and conscious beings.

III – Those intentions, actions or inactions which prevent pain, suffering, hardship, and horror are right.

IV – Those intentions, actions or inactions which cause unnecessary pain, suffering, hardship, and horror are wrong.

V – Each individual’s morality should work to advance the common good.

VI – Each individual should render aid to other individuals in need within the limits of said individuals means and capability.

VII – Inflicting pain, suffering, hardship, and horror in the defense of the common good is right only when unavoidable, necessary and justifiable. 

VIII – A given individual should not expect its own needs to outweigh the common good as service to the common good benefits all individuals.

IX – The needs of all individuals should be considered equally except when they stand to cause unnecessary pain, suffering, hardship, and horror. 

I – Material living standards are those standards by which we expect to live. 

II – Collectively all individuals are universally entitled to basic material living standards such as housing, food, water, safety, security, and health care.

III – Collectively all individuals should be able to access equitable employment conditions, transportation networks, and consumer goods. 

IV– Collectively when in environments of abundance all individuals should be able to access formal education, social services, and cultural enrichment assets. 

V – Individuals should have sufficient freedoms that they are able to conduct their existence in a manner they desire, so long as said existence causes no unnecessary pain, suffering, hardship, and horror to others.

VI – Individuals should have sufficient freedom to own whatever property they wish, so long as others basic material living standards are not infringed upon. 

VII – It is morally wrong to hold freedoms, assets, or other such resources in excess. 

I – All of existence is governed by forces external to itself.

II – For the majority of existence freedom is objective as it is not experienced or questioned.

III – In individuals who are sufficiently intelligent and conscious freedom is both objective and subjective as it is both experienced and questioned. 

IV – These sufficiently intelligent and conscious individuals should understand that true objective freedom is impossible.

V – For such individuals, exercising subjective freedom for its own sake is wasted.

I – Only concepts that exist separate of our existence (without) can be said to have objective persistence on the infinite timescale.

II – Only the underlying laws that govern our existence can be said to have objective persistence on cosmic timescales.

III – When considering the individual, societal, cultural, geologic and solar timescales objective persistence does not truly exist. 

IV – When considering the individual, societal, cultural, geologic and solar timescales subjective persistence does exist.

V – The objective and subjective persistence of a given activity or its result must be acknowledged when considering the worth or meaningfulness of said activity or its result. 

I – Each activity, the doing of said activity, and the result of said activity will have a different qualitative and quantitative worths. 

II – The overall worth of a given activity can be determined be evaluating certain characteristics of said activity. 

III – The benefit of the activity to the collective good. 

IV – The benefit of the activity to the individual. 

V – The quality of the activities results.

VI – The permanence of the activities results.

VII – The more benefit, quality, and permanence an activity has the more worth it is said to have. 

I – A things quality can be measured by various methods by which the useful characteristics of a thing can be defined in meaningful ways. 

II – A things qualities can most easily be described by defining the inherent traits of a given thing. 

III – A things quality can be measured in the benefits it brings to the common good and to the individual. 

IV – A things quality can be measured by the objective permanence of a thing compared to similar things. 

V – A things quality can be measured by the fineness of a given thing compared to similar things.

VI – A things quality can be measured by intangible aspects of a given thing such as subjective beauty.

VII – A things quality can be measured by the emotional response inspired by a given thing.

I – Merit is the concept that certain actions or inactions will help or hinder an individual’s transition to a next or continued existence (afterlife). 

II – Since the continuation of existence is currently unknown and cannot be proven, meritorious actions are performed as a matter of faith, as no action or inaction can guarantee benefit to the individual in this regard.

III – Conducting oneself in a meritorious manner as a matter of faith, even without proof of an afterlife, is in itself a criterion for transitioning to a next or continued existence.

IV – Actions or inactions that are seen to have merit should be undertaken primarily for their tangible benefits in this life, rather than for the uncertain possibility of a next or continued existence.

V – Individuals, societies, cultures, and religions dictate what actions or inactions are of merit.

VI –Meritorious actions are those that have persistence, are of worth, are of quality, have meaning and serve the common good.

VII – The concept of merit is beneficial to the common good and to the individual. 

VIII – This faith in merit is a foundational belief of Those Who Muse.

I – Meaning is the basis by which our existence is given value and purpose. 

II – Thoughts, intentions, actions and inactions have meaning. 

III – Individuals, groups, places, and objects have meaning.

IV – Meaning is created when certain feelings are assigned to a given thought, intention, action, inaction, individual, group, place, or object.

V – Assigning meaning creates an intellectual, emotional, or spiritual connection to that which is deemed meaningful.

VI – Meaning can be assigned by theology, culture, family, or by an individual.

VII – Assigning meaning is beneficial to the common good and to the individual.

VIII – Meaning regardless of its origin is always experienced on the individual level.

IX – Those things that assigned meaning should never be treated in a dismissive way.

X – Meaning will necessarily shift over time.

I – Each given individual has unique and specific capabilities.

II – Each given individual is capable of only so much physical and mental effort.

III – As society has advanced it has become more complex.

IV – As society has become more complex the knowledge, skills, and effort needed to maintain and advance it have grown exponentially. 

V – Since societies demands for knowledge, skills, and effort has grown so intense the knowledge, skills, and effort of single individuals is no longer sufficient for most tasks.

VI – As such the knowledge, skills, and efforts of many individuals is required to maintain and advance society. 

VII – Failure of individuals to collaborate and combine their knowledge, skills, and efforts will hinder civilization. 

I – Thrift is the careful and purposeful management of resources.

II – Each individual has a responsibility to ensure that their existence is not overtly harmful to others.

III – Each individual has the responsibility to honestly evaluate its wants vs its needs and live within its means.

IV – Each individual has the responsibility not to live in excess.

V – Each individual has the responsibility to minimize waste.

VI – Each individual has the responsibility to recycle and reuse whenever possible.

VII – Each individual has the responsibility to be as energy efficient as possible.

I – To have absolute personal freedom a given individual’s wants and needs will necessarily have to be placed above all other individuals wants and needs. 

II – If each individual’s wants and needs are placed above all other individuals wants and needs each individual will necessarily compete with each other individual. 

III – This competition between individuals will necessarily cause some individuals to suffer unnecessarily.

IV – By placing their own wants and needs above all others some select individuals will act in abhorrent manners to advance their own interests.

V – In a society which grants absolute personal freedoms there is no mechanism to control or restrict those individuals who act abhorrently.

VI – Any effort to control or restrict any given individual for any reason would remove said individual’s absolute freedom.

VII – The restriction of an individual’s absolute freedom to prevent abhorrent behavior by said individual is the creation and promotion of the collective good.