What Communities Lose When America Abandons the 'Common Good'

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

America used to value things — youth sports, local businesses and accessible healthcare, for example — simply because they were good for communities. That’s according to Sen. Chris Murphy, who says over the past 50 years the United States has seen a shift away from common goods in favor of profit, disconnection and unhappiness. We speak with the Connecticut Democrat about his new book, “Crisis of the Common Good,” and the values he believes could unite America — or at least the Democratic Party. Guests: Chris Murphy, senator from Connecticut (D), U.S. Senate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:02.2	Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is regarded as a 28 Democratic presidential contender.
1:07.7	He's been a vocal critic of the U.S. war in Iran, as well as President Trump's
1:12.1	flagrant corruption in its role in undermining democracy. But Murphy says Trump is only a symptom,
1:17.9	not the cause of what ails America. And in a new book, he lays out how he thinks we got here
1:22.8	and what can be done to end our democratic and ethical unraveling. It's called Crisis of the Common Good, the Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America.
1:33.6	Senator Murphy, welcome to Forum.
1:35.8	Thanks for having me.
1:37.7	Before we get into your book, I do want to ask you about the latest national news,
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