Covid-19 and Prudent Politicians

David Cloutier reminds us that the common good, as defined in Gaudium et spes (26), is not an aggregate; rather, it is a set of conditions for shared flourishing.

Dan Horan, OFM, explains Laudato Si https://youtu.be/TzyYPJLhZjc?t=18 

His article is subtitled “In the Face of Uncertainty, Our Leaders Need Prudence”.

Margaret Atkins OSA has connected the classical virtues of Thomas Aquinas to related virtues that may help with ethical decisions connected to climate change.

 Her table of related virtues can be applied to political decisions that impact the common good1

Thomas Acquinas Cardinal Virtues	Margaret Atkins OSA Related virtues	Connection to Climate Change
temperantia	moderation, frugality and abstinence.	moderate use of material goods to include the consumption of energy
justice	generosity, compassion, respectfulness, peaceableness and humility.	Effect of GHG gas production by wealthy nations on the large populations of the poor nations
prudentia, or practical wisdom	attentiveness, good judgement, studiousness, thoughtfulness, creativity, independence of thought and honesty	an effort to understand the basic issues of climate change
Courage (fortitude)	determination, hopefulness, industriousness and patience	Promote virtuous approach to climate change in conflict with policy that puts profit before people.

 Political prudence would recognize that any aggregate numbers—about health or economics—cannot capture what the common good really is. We have a bad habit of equating the common good with a simple aggregation of individual goods. Our choices are thus framed as individual conflicts: the economic survival of the small business owner versus the actual survival of potential victims of the virus.2

Cloutier writes about the response of the New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, to Trump’s “aspirational” announcement that the country might reopen in time for Easter.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_full/public/20190903T1223-2047-CNS-ABUSE-PREVENTION-NY-SCHOOLS.jpg?itok=GjX_DTTl

Gov. Cuomo rejected the simplistic deaths-versus-dollars framework in favor of fine-grained judgments about how to balance various public goods. This was a step forward.

 Cuomo paid attention to the data, starting his presentation with numbers and charts, but he also made it clear by the nuances of his discussion that this was about more than data. At another press conference, he acknowledged a consideration that cannot be quantified: how we are living now does not promote flourishing. “This is not the human condition,” he said, “this is all unnatural.” These are the social and psychological realities of the shutdown, and they too need to be taken into account. The costs of stay-at-home orders are not only economic.2

Prudent politicians listen with all due humility to those who have spent their lives studying infectious disease and public health. They learn as much as they can about the facts, and then, with all due caution, they make decisions for the common good. The application of the ethics of Thomas Aquinas to the existential challenge of climate change is discussed in this blog article.

References

1	(2008, January 28). Passenger pigeons and polar bears: the ethics of global .... Retrieved January 28, 2020, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/20080128_1.htm
2	(2020, May 28). What the Experts Can't Tell Us | Commonweal Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2020, from https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/what-experts-cant-tell-us