ABSTRACT
America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility, the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of community over chaos. President Bush's address is not particularly new or innovative. It echoes the ask not words of John Kennedy 40 years earlier in calling for selflessness and good citizenship, and appealing to individuals to put the needs of the country ahead of their own interests. While many political philosophers of both the liberal and communitarian persuasions have recently and not-so-recently shed valuable light on the problem of freedom vs. community, the most coherent and ultimately helpful approach to the general question of the good life as lived in community lies in Aristotle. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book states that Aristotle still has much to teach people about happiness, and the neo-Aristotelian template of helping peoples' lives go better.
