Our idea of what constitutes social good has advanced with the procession of the ages, from those desperate times when just to keep body and soul together was an achievement, to the great present when "good" includes an agreeable, stable civilization accessible to all, the opportunity of each to develop his particular genius and the privilege of mutual usefulness.
Interpretation
The concept of social good has evolved over time from mere survival to the promotion of a thriving civilization that benefits everyone.
Frances Perkins highlights the significant evolution of our understanding of social good throughout history. Initially centered around mere survival, modern interpretations now encompass broader societal benefits, such as stability, equality, and the nurturing of individual talents, emphasizing the importance of mutual support and collective progress as hallmarks of a truly 'good' society.
In practice
In a speech on social justice, one could use this quote to illustrate the evolution of societal values.
Out of our first century of national life we evolved the ethical principle that it was not right or just that an honest and industrious man should live and die in misery. He was entitled to some degree of sympathy and security. Our conscience declared against the honest workman's becoming a pauper, but our eyes told us that he very often did.
The door might not be opened to a woman again for a long, long time, and I had a kind of duty to other women to walk in and sit down on the chair that was offered, and so establish the right of others long hence and far distant in geography to sit in the high seats.
The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to give all the people under its jurisdiction the best possible life.
He gives us the very quintessence of perception,-the clearly crystalized precipitation of all that is most precious in the ferment of impression after the impertinent and obtrusive particulars have evaporated from the memory.
To insult someone we call him 'bestial. For deliberate cruelty and nature, 'human' might be the greater insult.
Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.
Well, the tyranny of masculinity and the tyranny of patriarchy I think has been much more deadly to men than it has to women. It hasn’t killed our hearts. It’s killed men’s hearts. It’s silenced them, it’s cut them off.
No individual is alone responsible for a single stepping stone along the path of progress, and where the path is smooth progress is most rapid.
We have believed - and we do believe now - that freedom is indivisible, that peace is indivisible, that economic prosperity is indivisible
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