Module 2--C. Abe

"Marcos and the Common Good"

According to contemporary ethicist John Rawls, the common good is “the certain general conditions that are…equally to everyone’s advantage.” In other words, the common good is much like a compromise or agreement between people in a particular society. The goal in seeking a common good is for everyone to benefit. However, this requires a lot of work and cooperation, and most times all parties must make some sort of sacrifice to collaboratively reach their desired end. Furthermore, even though sacrifices are made, it is still virtually impossible for all parties to fully agree on the relative value of things they are discussing. It is because of the sacrifices made that people’s beliefs are not fully their own.

In the video “Imelda”, the Marcoses are shown as being extreme powerhouses and ones who use their power and wealth to dominate their society. For Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos there is no notion of seeking to find a common good within their people of the Philippines, and they certainly do not follow the requests of the Filipinos to focus on bettering the poverty in the nation. Instead, Imelda is obsessed with beauty (regarding both herself and her land) and avoids real life issues. Imelda daily spends 1-2 hours getting ready, putting on makeup, making her hair, etc, depending on where she is going. When she is visiting the provinces of the Philippines, she takes twice as long as she does when meeting with other nations’ presidents because she felt that she had to be the role model of beauty for them. Extremely pretentious and insensitive, Imelda thought that she was doing the impoverished Filipinos a favor by showing them how they ought to dress. She reasoned that by giving them a glimpse of wealth and power, the poor would then think, “If Imelda made it, everyone else can make it.” A Jesuit priest said of Imelda: “She cannot face reality.”

Rather than encouraging their people to seek a common good, President and Mrs. Marcos pursued their own goal for power and influence as a result of cheating and extending their term. President Marcos’ term was loaded with corruption and dishonesty. Just to name a few, Imelda spent millions of government money on jewelry for herself. Her lack of compassion for people was shown when construction workers were killed when building the Film Center, and she insisted on having the rest of the workers continue building regardless of the deaths that had just occurred.

The common good reflects a genuine sincerity in seeking to come to an agreement with others in the society. However, because ethical relativism exists, which is “the theory that whether or not an action is wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced (“Ethical Relativism” by Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, and Meyer), it is important to consider whether or not seeking a common good in a society is appropriate. Within any one society, there are smaller groups or branches of that particular society. For example, the American society may be defined as those people who live in the United States of America. But the states themselves are comprised of many other people groups and ethnicities, people of varying demographics, and countless religions. Therefore, it is important to question how a people in a society can come to agree upon an issue, and if they are willing to let go of stereotypes they may have in order to successfully collaborate among themselves, as different as they may be.

Violence is a particularly important topic because when it occurs, there is an implication that the common good was not attained, nor was even a value to those in the society. Because it robs us of our peace and freedom, violence within a society should enrage people to action. However, it should not take drastic measures of violence for people to seek agreement with each other and aim to better their society.