PublicInterestCommonGood

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

The ‘public interest’ and ‘common good’ ('PICG') are central concepts in educated discourse about governance, the economy, ethics, philosophy and business, from Ancient Greece (and before) into the present. These related concepts are embedded in most world religions and cultures, but are also misused by tyrants, ideologues, and authoritarians. In Western Civilization, they were challenged by the rise of Utilitarianism beginning in the late 18th c. and nihilism in the late-19th c., and increasingly abandoned by neoclassical economics by the 1950s, partly in response to the Cold War. By the 1980s, discourse on PICG was in disfavor in many social sciences, where it was often dismissed as vague, imprecise, unquantifiable, misused, and concealing more than it reveals. The past decade has seen a resurgence in social science research on these fundamental concepts, including in experimental social science, behavioral economics, and discourse analysis, with new research methods, techniques and approaches aiming to bring life back to this age-old discourse with applications in the private sector, government, and non-profit worlds. The applications of these concepts in both private sector activities and public policies are vast: identifying entrepreneurial opportunities and making responsible business decisions that create both economic and social value; and defining issues, setting agendas, making decisions and implementing wise public policies. These are deep concepts on which reasonable people can disagree (reasonably) in their application to particular circumstances and issues (in business, policies, governance). This intellectually-rich course engages students in cutting-edge research on these fundamental questions of governance and business management, applying modern research methodologies to age-old debates, while enriching students' understanding of the philosophical roots and current applications, to provide a lifelong platform for analysis and synthesis.