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Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition

Public interest

by D. Gosselin Nakeeb

Definition: Common good of all members of a society

Type of ethics: Personal and social ethics

Significance: Theoretically, the interests of every single member of a society may conflict with the interests of the public considered as a whole. The notion of public interest therefore requires weighing the theoretical rights of the individual against the rights of the collective, as well as considering practical claims of specific individuals or groups in specific situations.

For Plato and Aristotle, the concept of public interest arises together with the following fundamental questions: What is justice? What is the best structure of society? What is the proper role of government? The same concept, under the term “commonwealth,” underlies the social contract theories of Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan, 1651), John Locke (Second Treatise of Government, 1689), and nineteenth century progressivism.

In 1907, U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act, quieting decades of outcry against dangerous consumer products that were perceived as resulting from unregulated pursuit of the profit motive. The 1930’s sawrenewed interest in the government’s mission to benefit society, and a plethora of public-interest legislation resulted. During the 1960’s and 1970’s, legislation addressed to public health and safety introduced a new level of regulation of private enterprise, fueled by the growing consumer and environmental movements. In response to business objections, there was a partial rollback of regulation during the 1980’s. The longerterm trend, however, has been the evolution of a closer identification between private enterprise and public needs, partly reversing the traditional view that free enterprise and the public interest are inherently at odds.

See also: Altruism; Bentham, Jeremy; Common good; Consumerism; Environmental Protection Agency; Future-oriented ethics; Whistleblowing.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Nakeeb, D. Gosselin. "Public Interest." Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition, edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Ethics_1034.
APA 7th
Nakeeb, D. G. (2019). Public interest. In G. Lucas & J. K. Roth (Eds.), Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Nakeeb, D. Gosselin. "Public Interest." Edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth. Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2019. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.