Lecturer Gregory Collins has an article on the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy website entitled “Frederick Douglass, Common Good Constitutionalism, and Civil Society”.
Abstract:
Debates over common good constitutionalism often revolve around the question of whether the empowerment of government agencies or the protection of individual rights is the more effective means to attain the common good. What warrants greater attention in this dialectic is the critical function of social associations that lie between the individual and the state to advance this end. My paper argues that Frederick Douglass’ political thought and political life provide a crucial intellectual resource in highlighting the important role of such associations to promote the common good. While Douglass’ constitutional thought hints at his broader conception of this term, it is only when we also take into account his reflections on the art of association and the efficacy of civil society institutions that a sharper picture of his vision of the common good emerges. This underappreciated dimension of Douglass’ thought suggests that the common good depends not only on the security of individual rights and on the judicious exercise of public authority, but also on the graceful weave of social relationships in civil society dedicated to cultivating excellence of character in a commonwealth.