In recent years we have witnessed a growing sense of division in Western societies. Here in America, liberals and conservatives, men and women, atheists and Christians, red and blue Americans, among others, all seem to have a bone to pick with the existing societal arrangement.

What is producing disaffection in contemporary liberal Western societies? What are the underlying assumptions of our political system? How have they developed and changed over the years? Are the forces pulling us apart now stronger than those that bring us together?

In this five-day intensive seminar we will examine the roots of our situation exploring fundamental tensions around such phenomena as freedom, self-interest, authority, dogma and common good. Students will study the ideas and perspectives behind modern liberal society and how different ways of thinking have shaped what the common good looks like today. We will read and/or discuss selections of ancient, modern and contemporary writers, including Plato, Mandeville, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, Taylor and Fukuyama.

https://www.abigailadamsinstitute.org/common-good-seminar-2022