Elevating The Common Good Over Self-Interest

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says liberal democracy has become about “me” instead of “us.” In his new book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, Sacks says we are losing our strong, shared moral code and that’s challenging our sense of community and common good. Growth comes from an openness to others who may not be like us and, he says, developing a moral bond based on mutual acceptance will reduce conflict. In today’s show he speaks with Reverend Serene Jones, the first woman president of the Historic Theological Seminary in New York City. Sacks was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2005 and took a seat in the House of Lords in 2009. He’s the author of more than three dozen books. Serene Jones is past president of the American Academy of Religion and was a professor of theology at Yale’s divinity school.