“The good of an individual is contained in the good of all” encapsulates the idea that individual well-being is interconnected with the well-being of the larger community. It implies that personal flourishing is intertwined with the welfare of society as a whole. This principle suggests that one cannot truly thrive if others are suffering or if societal conditions are unfavorable. Implementing this ethos in public life requires policies and actions that prioritize the common good over individual interests, fostering inclusivity, equity, and cooperation. This could involve investing in education, healthcare, and social welfare programs to uplift the disadvantaged, promoting environmental sustainability for future generations, and fostering a culture of empathy and mutual support. Furthermore, it entails decision-making processes that consider the broader impact on society, fostering a sense of collective responsibility and solidarity among citizens. Ultimately, embracing this principle can lead to a more harmonious and equitable society where everyone’s well-being is valued and nurtured.
Tag: Probity in Governance.
Decoding the Question:
- In Introduction, try to simplify the given statement. Here, you can also link the given statement with Gandhian Philosophy of “Sarvodaya”.
- In Body, you can divide the body in two parts.
- In the first part, deconstruct the given statement like what does the statement suggest in a multidimensional way.
- In the second part, you need to show the relevance of statements in the Politico-social framework.
- In Conclusion, try to give the ideal of the given statement and relevance in contemporary context.
Answer:
“The good of an individual is contained in the good of all” means that the good of an individual lies in the good of all people of the society. In other words, the progress of the whole society is good for everyone. Sabkasathsabka vikas is a concept inherent which reflects that with the support of each individual, every individual grows in a society. Good of all is inherently for an individual as, a society can grow only when all members of society are part of this growth.
“The good of an individual is contained in the good of all”:
- The statement suggests welfare of all which represents the ideal social order based on all-embracing love. No individual or group is to be suppressed, exploited and hounded. All are to be equal members of the social order, all sharing in the produce of their labour, the strong protecting the weak and functioning as their trustees and protectors, each promoting the welfare of all, according to their abilities and through all the means at their disposal.
- The given statement suggests a peaceful and non-violent way of achieving social justice. The most predominant characteristics of “The good of an individual is contained in the good of all” are human values, individual development that is always consistent with the development of society, promotion of altruism to the highest degree, integration of the individual with society, lifting the whole human society to the highest level of existence, where love and fair play will have the most crucial roles to play.
Good of An Individual Is Contained in The Good of All- Implementation in Politico-Social Framework:
- Inclusive growth: When a society grows inclusively, it leads to growth of all. Inclusive growth lead to a peaceful stable rise of a society and reduces inequalities. This in a way is good for an individual as it saves government spending for social upliftment which can be used to develop services like infrastructure, roads, railways which are good for anyone.
- Develop trust: When all grow and good happens to everyone, a sense of trust is developed among citizens and state. Citizens trust their government and feelings of distrust, secession from state, hatred against society reduces which is good for everyone in the country.
- Reduce hopelessness: With the good of every individual, sense of hopelessness is reduced. An individual hopes to grow and work productively for his own growth and nation’s growth. Thus lead to overall growth of every individual.
- Social cohesion: With good of all, inequalities in society reduces. Due to this every individual works together for larger social good.
- Reduced crimes: As everyone progresses, people tend to move away from crime and invest their time in progressive work. With crime reduction everyone feels safe and thus works freely that helps him and leads to societal progress.
How can this principle be implemented in public life?
- Sensitisation: Each individual must be sensitized about other’s plight and difficulties. Efforts must be made to make people aware of other’s feelings. For example, by knowing about women’s plight, a sense for women’s welfare can be developed in the society.
- Education: Education leads to holistic development of an individual. With knowledge of various issues of marginalized and weaker sections, a feeling of empathy develops among individuals.
- Value development: Values of empathy, compassion, selflessness etc. should be inculcated among every individual in the society. These values can be inculcated from the beginning of a child’s upbringing through family, education etc. As in public life, every decision or action of a person affects someone else, he must be, therefore, sensitive towards other emotions and needs.
- Redressal of grievances: Various grievances of people must be handled properly. This means that as civil servants we should be sensitive to the needs and grievances of all, even if they are small in number or even one person. This is because, in resolving the issues or concerns of one, we are also addressing concerns faced by many others.
- People’s participation: Engaging people and making them realise how their actions have benefited the other people and making governance more participatory and service oriented can be some important ways to achieve it.
The neo-liberal market forces in the present-day globalized world are exploiting the poor and marginalized. Depleting natural resources like water, which remained communitarian so far, are being allowed to be commercialized. The gap between the rich and poor within the country and rich and poor countries are getting widened day by day. The ideal of “The good of an individual is contained in the good of all” is more relevant today than ever before as it will ensure the needs to be taken as a guiding spirit to do away with existing disparity.
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