The University: a common good for the Common Good

Abstract

In what way can we say that the University is a common good for the Common Good? How can the University contribute to the Common Good? In a logic that places a symmetry between common goods and Common Good, the vocation to the Common Good of the University is revised through the “three missions” that have historically been assigned to it. This contribution intends to put forward the hypothesis of a Fourth Mission of the University which constitutes the meaning itself of the University as a common good for the Common Good and which dynamically structures the relationship between the different Missions. The Common Good calls for political commitment of the institutions: The Fourth Mission is therefore the “political mission”. In this direction, we are questioning the political dimension of the University and the role of intellectuals as a critical consciousness.