Written in response to Friday Faithfuls:
“The Greater Good”.
This week at Friday Faithfuls, Jim Adams is discussing “The Greater Good” …. an intriguing, interesting, and very well done post. Today I don’t have a story or a poem for you, which is unusual; instead, I’m simply sharing my opinion …. and a song.
Asking someone to sacrifice personal desires for “the greater good” assumes that good is a single, measurable thing …. but it isn’t. What benefits a majority may devastate a minority; what one community calls progress, another calls loss.
Consider China’s Three Gorges Dam: it now supplies clean electricity to millions and controls flooding along the Yangtze, a genuine national benefit. Yet building it displaced over a million people from homes and land their families had held for generations. Was that a fair trade? The answer likely depends on which side of the river you stood on.
This doesn’t mean individual rights should always outweigh collective interests, but I believe it does mean claims of “greater good” deserve scrutiny and not automatic deference. Genuine cooperation should be negotiated and consented to …. not dictated by whoever gets to define what “good” means.
© South China Morning Post
This is “The Greater Good” by Styx
Thanks to Jim Adams for keeping us entertained, aware and on the ball. And thanks to you all for stopping by for a look and a listen.
That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎
NAR©2026
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
I agree with you, Nancy. **explain this ‘greater good’ thing to me**…🤨
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Thanks for joining in and sharing your thoughts on this topic, Nancy. I liked your example of building the Three Gorges Dam, as that forced 1.3 million people to leave their ancestral homes and move elsewhere. More than 1,000 towns, villages, and cities along the Yangtze River were completely submerged by the massive reservoir. Many relocated residents received little financial compensation and faced high unemployment or poverty in their new areas. Countless ancient archaeological sites, historic shrines, and cultural relics were permanently flooded and lost. The breathtaking, steep natural scenery of the famous river gorges was radically altered forever. The natural flow of the Yangtze River ecosystem was severely disrupted, harming local fish populations and biodiversity. The immense weight and shifting water pressure in the reservoir triggered localized landslides and minor earthquakes along the banks. I guess it served the greater good, but it was not all that great.
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Spot on, Jim. Thanks for reading my piece and commenting. Also for looking into the Three Gorges Dam. Your comment on the dam is quite an indictment, and rightfully so.
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A smart piece, Nancy. There are always “losers” in these “greater good” projects. It is hard to justify, for sure.
Didn’t know this Styx song – I like it.
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