This chapter explores the intricate relationship between the individual and the community in political philosophy, focusing on the interplay between private and public goods, and the role of civility in sustaining communal life. Drawing on Aristotle, it challenges the modern view—articulated by Constant and echoed by Arendt—that ancient Greek thought prioritized the common good over individual liberty. Through Judith Swanson’s reinterpretation, the chapter argues that Aristotle accorded intrinsic value to the private realm (family, friendships, contemplation), which fosters concord (homonoia) among citizens and stabilizes the polis without subsuming personal interests. The discussion extends to the tradition of sensus communis, from Vico and Gadamer to the Scottish Enlightenment and Voegelin, as a shared practical judgement grounding community and countering modern isolation. It then examines twentieth-century reflections on civility in Collingwood’s and Oakeshott’s critiques of what they called barbarity and enterprise association respectively, emphasizing case-sensitive rule-following, non-coercive intercourse, and moral association in the respublica. Finally, Catholic social teaching’s concepts of personhood and solidarity are presented as reconciling individual dignity with communal interdependence, offering a balanced vision of civility as moderated responsibility for the common good.