Society And its Purpose
Book 2 - The End of Society
CHAPTER 7
The political criterion drawn from the relationship between the two ends of society
212. In every society therefore we must distinguish two ends, the remote and the proximate. But which is the principal end? Does one end serve the other? We find the answer without difficulty in what has already been said.
True human good, which is the essential, common end of any association whatever, is always contentment of spirit, a true end. The proximate end of society, like society itself, is simply a means for obtaining the remote end. The remote end must never be sacrificed to the proximate end; on the contrary, the latter must be subordinate to and made to serve the former. The value of the proximate end lies solely in the service and aid it gives to the remote end, the ultimate, absolute social end.
213. We have therefore the following very important political criterion drawn from the end of society:(66) `The proximate end of society, which consists in the acquisition of particular good and pleasure, must be ordered to the remote end, which consists in contentment of the members’ spirit. The proximate end must always be evaluated relative to the remote end, never unconditionally.’
Notes
(66) Another criterion is that of substance and accidents, which I discussed in SC.