Political Community, Common Good, and Agents’ Identity: A Thomistic Proposal for Human Flourishing

The paper criticizes contemporary pluralism because its exaltation of human freedom conceals systemic injustices in economic, social, and political domains. Drawing on Aquinas and MacIntyre’s accounts, the paper explores what makes human beings flourish, that is, to live a good human life qua human beings. The paper contends that human flourishing occurs if agents develop a virtuous conduct through which they can realize their nature. The political community, which is constituted of other communities that constitute social groups, is crucial for fostering desirable practices that contribute to individual and collective flourishing. Emphasizing a narrative approach to personal identity, the paper contends that recognizing a common good as the orienting principle for individual and collective pursuits leads to human flourishing. The paper advocates for a normative conception that prioritizes the pursuit of the common good, asserting the inseparability of personal identity and of social and political identity within a just political community.