< Más Articulos : The Common Sense Ideology (Times of Israel - 26 Nov 2025)
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The Common Sense Ideology (Times of Israel - 26 Nov 2025)
According to the Merriam–Webster Dictionary, common sense is defined as “sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.”
I am 69 years old. Age alone does not guarantee wisdom, but it does provide the benefit of long vision. I grew up in a home divided by ideology: my mother was a committed leftist activist in Guatemala’s student movements, while my father was a banker, businessman, and respected figure in right-leaning economic circles. I witnessed their disagreements firsthand , not only around the dinner table, but also during evenings with guests and intellectuals who debated passionately in our home. The ideological conflict was not theoretical for us: in 1965, my father became the first businessman kidnapped by the then-nascent guerrilla movement, while my mother appeared on radical right-wing hit lists.
I have lived my whole life in Guatemala, where left vs. right is not an abstract political debate, it is a lived experience. We endured 36 years of civil war, from 1960 to 1996, with kidnappings, assassinations, bombings, and propaganda warfare shaping daily life. I have seen the harsh reality of poverty and families struggling to survive, and I have also seen privileged lives where everything was attainable and nothing seemed out of reach.
Before continuing, I want to state three premises, that for me, form the non-negotiable foundation of what I consider common-sense ideology:
First, ACCEPT THAT PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT: imagine redistributing all the world’s wealth equally among every person alive. Within a short time , perhaps even within a day , inequality would naturally reappear. Some individuals would make decisions that generate more wealth, others would exchange work for pay, and hierarchy would form again. Human behavior, not just economic structure, drives inequality.
Second, MAKE THE MOST OF HUMAN NATURE: I hold as factual that the only economic system capable of creating large-scale wealth is capitalism. However, capitalism must be accompanied by a complementary social structure, one that ensures protection, dignity, and support for the most vulnerable. Prosperity and compassion are not mutually exclusive; they are mutually necessary.
Third, ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND WHAT’S IMPORTANT: the goal of any worthwhile ideology must be to improve the quality of life of all the inhabitants of a region. How to achieve this is where controversies may arise.
What does the “Common Sense” ideology propose?
The “Common Sense” approach rejects ideological rigidity. It does not adopt any doctrine as sacred. Instead, it examines each situation on its own merits and asks: Which solution best improves the living conditions of the people in a given society, without infringing upon the rights of others? This principle is grounded in pragmatism, not dogma.
A recent example that illustrates this attitude was the meeting between former U.S. President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Despite coming from entirely different political worlds, they sat down and agreed to collaborate on improving the quality of life for New Yorkers. Their discussion was refreshingly free of ideology or partisan talking points. They focused instead on practical outcomes, shared goals, and realistic solutions. Their message was essentially: Let us work together for the people, regardless of political identity.
It is equally clear why Israel and Hamas cannot replicate such a dynamic. Israel seeks security and peace for all residents of the region, including Palestinians, but not at the expense of its present or future safety. Hamas, on the other hand, has consistently demonstrated that the wellbeing of Palestinians is secondary to its ideological pursuit of Israel’s destruction. There is no shared premise from which to begin collaboration, because one side seeks coexistence and prosperity, while the other seeks annihilation.
Where to Begin
To embrace a “Common Sense” mindset, one must first be willing to remove the ideological straitjacket that limits independent thought. We often internalize the frameworks imposed by political tribes, frameworks that define what we are “supposed” to think. Common sense begins when we allow ourselves to step outside those boundaries. Trust your reasoning, your instincts, and your capacity to evaluate a situation on its own terms. And always return to the fundamental goal: to improve the quality of life for all the inhabitants of the region in question.
Second, common sense requires clarity. One cannot propose meaningful solutions without fully understanding the problem at hand. Take, for example, the Russia–Ukraine conflict. How many of us can say with certainty what Russia truly wants, or what Ukraine is able, or not able, to concede in pursuit of peace? Or consider the Middle East: what precisely do Saudi Arabia or Qatar hope to gain in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict? What are their interests, their limits, their expectations?
Ultimately, “Common Sense” is not a political position, it is a moral and intellectual posture. It asks us to elevate human wellbeing above party identity, to prioritize results over rhetoric, and to seek cooperation where others seek conflict. If we can encourage citizens, whether in Guatemala, Israel, New York, or anywhere else, to think freely, evaluate honestly, and pursue policies rooted in pragmatism and empathy, then perhaps we can begin forging societies where prosperity is shared, peace is durable, and dignity is universal. That is not naïve idealism; it is the necessary groundwork for any future worth building
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-common-sense-ideology/
( Por: Yehudi Sabbagh , 26/11/2025 )
