Foundations of a Just Society Final Exam

Human Dignity

Men and women are the living images of God himself

Common Good

The attainment of the individual good requires the attainment of the common good of the community. Responsibility for seeking the common good falls upon individuals, voluntary associations, the Church, and the political community.

Universal Destination of Goods

God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity

Subsidiarity

One should not assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do; higher-order organizations should help lower-order organizations achieve their end

Participation

Individuals have the duty (and the right) to, directly or through representation, contribute to the cultural, economic, political, and social life of the civil community to which they belong

Solidarity

Because the intrinsic nature of the human person is social and our dignity and rights are equal, the fundamental social virtue is to seek the good of others and make their joy and suffering ours. At the individual level, because we are all responsible for all, the moral virtue is to have the firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that is, the good of all and of each individual.