Toward a Better World

Abstract

Marked by nationalism, extremism, and xenophobia, the times require a response from nurses, a profession marked by a moral character of caring for the other, regardless of who the other is. Because nursing’s concern is the other—who shares a bond of humanity with us—nursing works for the common good. The collection of nurses that is the profession of nursing worldwide works for the common good, in its collective, by caring for the entire human community. The book’s central argument is that the profession can work for the common good through fulfilling obligations to the entire human community and that which sustains the human community. The obligations this book explores are to promote human equality, to give assistance to those who need it, to promote peace and safety, to respect Earth as a living entity with a moral status of its own, and to respect one’s own and others’ humanity. Working for the common good will produce a better world for everyone and for others who come after, which is the ultimate aim of the profession of nursing.