<P> In philosophy , economics , and political science , the common good ( also commonwealth , common weal or general welfare ) refers to either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community , or alternatively , what is achieved by citizenship , collective action , and active participation in the realm of politics and public service . The concept of the common good differs significantly among philosophical doctrines . Early conceptions of the common good were set out by Ancient Greek philosophers , including Aristotle and Plato . One understanding of the common good rooted in Aristotle 's philosophy remains in common usage today , referring to what one contemporary scholar calls the `` good proper to , and attainable only by , the community , yet individually shared by its members . '' The concept of common good developed through the work of political theorists , moral philosophers , and public economists , including Thomas Aquinas , Niccolò Machiavelli , John Locke , Jean - Jacques Rousseau , James Madison , Adam Smith , Karl Marx , John Stuart Mill , John Rawls , and many other thinkers . In contemporary economic theory , a common good is any good which is rivalrous yet non-excludable , while the common good , by contrast , arises in the subfield of welfare economics and refers to the outcome of a social welfare function . Such a social welfare function , in turn , would be rooted in a moral theory of the good ( such as utilitarianism ) . Social choice theory aims to understand processes by which the common good may or may not be realized in societies through the study of collective decision rules . And public choice theory applies microeconomic methodology to the study of political science in order to explain how private interests affect political activities and outcomes . </P>
the ethical principle that refers to bringing about good or benefiting others is called
the common good ( also commonwealth , common weal or general welfare )