Those who will not learn from history …..
Posted on October 18, 2006
“Ned Lamont uses it in his Connecticut Senate race. President Clinton is scheduled to speak on the idea in Washington this week. Bob Casey Jr., Pennsylvania candidate for Senate, put it in the title of his talk at The Catholic University of America - then repeated the phrase 29 times. The term is “common good,” and it’s catching on as a way to describe liberal values and reach religious voters who rejected Democrats in the 2004 election. Led by the Center for American Progress, a Washington think-tank, party activists hope the phrase will do for them what “compassionate conservative” did for the Republicans. “It’s a core value that we think organizes the entire political agenda for progressives,” said John Halpin, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.”
What would Hitler have to say about that? We don’t need to guess. The term can be translated into German as “Gemeinnutz” and that lovable German-speaking rogue used the term a lot — as encapsulating what HE stood for: “Gemeinnutz vor Eigennutz!” was one of his great slogans (”Common use before personal use!”, literally).
And who preceded Hitler in such ideas? Friedrich Engels (Karl Marx’s co-author) at one stage ran a publication called Gemeinnuetziges Wochenblatt (”Common-use Weekly”). The Democrats sure make it clear where they fit into history.
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Page. Email me (John Ray) here.)
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The pseudonym for common good is in the United States Constitution under General Welfare. It is listed as one of the purposes for the establishment of the U.S. Constitution in the preamble.
Common Good(General Welfare) is left vague in the ,and that is probably so the legislator can more specifically define it at a later date and then redefine it at need.
Common Good(General Welfare) can be taken to extremes in such a way that it violates other parts of the U.S. Constitution ,such as the separation of the State and Federal Judiciary.
According to your example, Hitler’s use of common good appears to contradict that of the U.S. Constitution since it seems to violate the idea of private property. I have not heard the context of the Democrats speech, so I have no clue whether or not they are misusing the term.