What has social science learned about the common good? Can that knowledge improve the views of the common good held by philosophers and theologians? Would humanists ever even alter their definitions of the common good based on what social scientists say? Most view the assumptions undergirding social science as inadequate to a full understanding of human life. In this volume, six social scientists, with backgrounds in economics, political science, sociology, and policy analysis, speak about what their disciplines have to contribute to discussions within Catholic social thought about the common good. Two theologians then examine the insights of social science, including such challenging assertions as: that theology too often ignores the data of everyday life, that it is overly irenic, that it neither understands nor appreciates the unplanned order arising from individual interactions, and that it does not grasp how contention among self-interested nations and persons can be a more effective path to the common good than simply advocating cooperation and brotherly love. This volume's interplay of social scientific and religious views is a unique contribution to contemporary discussion of what constitutes "the common good."

At the end, the reader can see what theology might learn from social science * Nick Spencer, Studies in Christian Ethics *
Christian ethicists should clear space on their shelves for this important, multidisciplinary volume that highlights how the social sciences can enrich our theological understanding of the common good. * Daniel J. Daly, Journal of Catholic Social Thought *
Finn and the contributors to this excellent volume have produced a series of self-contained yet related essays that are precise, clear and richly informative without being pedantic or abstract. Throughout, the essays recognize that the common good is a both a prescriptive and abstract principle, without a method for achieving its goal, and also recognize that the social sciences are more concerned with moral dimensions of equity, fulfillment and order than is often acknowledged. Working in conversation, the limitations of both approaches might be strengthened and the common good advanced. * William Buhrman, International Journal of Public Theology *
This volume is suitable for graduate students or scholars interested in the common good and in CST. The contributors present important terms and movements from within their disciplines in an accessible way. Some of the insights by the social scientists are helpful even to experienced theologians who often engage in interdisciplinary collaboration. * Mary Beth Yount, Reading Religion *

Daniel K. Finn is Professor of Theology and Clemens Professor of Economics at St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota. He is a former president of the Society of Christian Ethics, the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the Association for Social Economics. His books include Christian Economic Ethics: History and Implications.