About
Liberty. Prosperity. Beauty.
These ideas
change lives
everywhere.
Common Sense Society (CSS) was founded as a debating forum in 2009 by a group of American and European university students. The group aimed to explore the ideas, cultures, and geography that have shaped our history in order to best contribute to a future that fosters human flourishing. In doing so, CSS became a celebration of the political, intellectual, and cultural inheritance which constitute our shared civilization.
This inheritance consists of a vast network of institutions, norms, shared history, customs, and moral philosophy, which CSS arranges into three issue areas of liberty, prosperity, and beauty. Today, CSS is an international network that promotes these timeless principles and the intermediary institutions that are indispensable to human flourishing and happiness.
Education for civic values and the political participation of young people are key to making Hungary a truly free and prosperous society. To this end, CSS strives to disseminate the ideas of civic participation, entrepreneurship, and responsible freedom among university students and young intellectuals in Hungary. Our members discuss current topics in public life through regular meetings, discussions, panel discussions, lectures, workshops, film screenings, and book launches. We do not want to be passive observers of the development of our civilization, but we want to shape the vision of sustainable freedom ourselves.
Why Common Sense?
We chose the term “common sense” because CSS wants to promote a reasonable and eloquent dialogue in the Hungarian political sphere, as opposed to reactionary or ideologically charged public discourse. The idea of common sense was first articulated by the ancient Greeks. The Greek word έμπειρία referred to what we can understand through our life experience. The Romans similarly used the term “sensus communis” to express sensibility and humanity. The Christian tradition uses a theological term for “general” or “natural revelation,” which understood the existence of morality and God to be self-evident in the material world.
The most famous use of “common sense” dates back to 1776, when British political theorist Thomas Paine published a pamphlet, Common Sense, Addressed to the Americans, arguing for America’s independence from Britain. His message was fueled by the conviction that political ideals and practice should be united. At a time when political ideals were based on actions never seen before in history, Paine declared, “The cause of America is, in great measure, the cause of all mankind.”
We believe that modern public discourse and policy decisions are greatly enhanced by understanding and engaging with political theory, philosophy, and historical experience. We seek to contribute to the intellectual development of our generation by providing a regular forum for rational discourse, cultural celebration, and civic engagement.
Leadership and Staff
The Andrássy Salon
The Andrássy Salon is the principal home to most Common Sense Society–Hungary events. Learn more.
Our Guiding Principles
Our definitions of liberty, prosperity, and beauty are established on a firm philosophical foundation of human equality that respects the inherent rights of each individual. These guiding principles are a framework to approach the vast array of institutions—such as voluntary labor, religious liberty, freedom of speech, and property rights—which support a society in which individuals are free to flourish. Our understanding of these principles is a result of close study of our inherited Western civilization, lessons learned from history, along with observations of what contributes to a meaningful life.
