Society And its Purpose
Book 2 - The End of Society
CHAPTER 9
The determined and the undetermined proximate end of societies
216. It follows that there are societies whose proximate end is fully determined. In this case, their remote end (contentment) lies outside the society, and cannot be partly or totally the task of social administration; it can only be the private task of individuals as human beings, not as members.
217. There are also societies whose proximate end is undetermined and virtually universal in such a way that the end includes every human good obtainable by social means. An example is found in domestic and civil societies, where the remote end is both internal and external to the society. Social administration must keep its sights always fixed on this end, carrying out enactments which, far from harming the end, contribute as much as possible to its procurement.