Globalization: the catch-all term used to refer to a complex reality whereby humanity faces global challenges to do with a shared environment - global warming, a global economic order in the absence of significant global governance, international institutions which lack independence from the member states which comprise them, and the possibility of violence, whether using a car- or plane-bomb or nuclear weapons, in the name of whatever cause. Such realities raise major questions about the intellectual and moral resources available to humanity to deal with the challenges posed, and the topic of the common good has enjoyed an explosion of interest recently in various disciplines and in different areas of life.

Patrick Riordan's timely study analyzes the concept of the common good as it is used in debates within political philosophy, economics, theology and most recently globalization, clarifying distinctions in definition and offering clarity and precision for a common language appropriate to debates on globalization.