THE SOCIAL ENCYCLICALSA Story by peppino ruggeri This paper reviews the most notable papal encyclicals dealing with economic and social issues: Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, Pope Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno, Pope John Paul II’s Laborem Excercens an This paper reviews
the most notable papal encyclicals dealing with economic and social issues:
Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, Pope Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno, Pope
John Paul II’s Laborem Excercens and Centesimus Annus, and Pope
Francis’ Beato Si’. Each encyclical is prefaced by a brief biography of
each Pope. Pope Leo XIII: Rerum Novarum Pope Leo XIII was
born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci on the second of March 1810 in
Carpineto Romano, near Rome, Italy. He was the sixth of seven
children of a noble couple, Anna Francesca Prosperi Buzzi (1773-1824) and Count
Ludovico Pecci (1767-1833). He and his brother Giuseppe attended the Jesuit
college in Viterbo but returned home when their mother died in 1824 and continued
their studies at the Jesuit college in Rome. Giuseppe joined the Jesuit order
but Vincenzo opted for secular priesthood. Ordained in 1837, he joined the
diplomatic service of the papal states. Shortly after his ordination he was
appointed papal legato of Benevento and three years later was transferred to
Spoleto. In 1843, at the age of 33, Vincenzo was appointed apostolic nuncio to
Belgium and the same year was elevated to archbishop, holding that position in
Perugia from 1846 to 1877. He was made cardinal in 1853 at the age of 40 and
the 20th of February 1878 was elected Pope. He died on the 20th
of July 1903 at the age of 93. The encyclical Rerum Novarum contains 64
paragraphs. For analytical purposes I have divided it into several sections,
according to selected topics. The workers’
conditions described by Pope Leo XIII had given rise to new political and
social movements that sought as a remedy the socialization of private property.
Socialism, as these movements were called, gained strength in the second half
of the 19th century supported by an impressive intellectual
foundation. It will suffice to mention the names of Charles Fournier
(1772-1837), Robert Owen (1771-1858), Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865),
Michael Bakunin (1814-1876), Karl Marx (1818-1883), and Frederich Hegel
(1820-1895). Notable among new workers’ organizations were the International
Workmen’s Association (often called the “First International”) established in
London in 1864 and the Second International founded in 1889. In some countries
the labor movement gave birth to an official political party as in the case of
the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany. For Pope Leo XIII, the concern
for the plight of the working class was joined by the preoccupation with the
expanding power of socialist ideologies and institutions. He recognized the
urgent need to present alternative solutions founded on the principles and
traditions of Catholicism. At this point one may ask: how can private property, which is associated with the existing economic inequities and dire conditions of workers, become the remedy for the workers’ plight? The Pope addressed this question by offering a plan that rests on the establishment of harmonious relationships between capital and labor based on the communality of interests and the support of Church and State. Before discussing the role of Church and State it is worth noting that the Pope’s plan is developed in the context of a patriarchal society and an economy dominated by agriculture. The man is the head of the family. Because he has the responsibility to provide for the needs of the family, he has the right to own private property.9 Also, according to the Pope, man has the right to private property because he is the only creature possessing reason. Thus, only rational men can have private property. Since only men of property can vote, and religious power rests with men, all the elements of the Pope’s plan involve only decisions by men. Private Property, the Church, and the
State. Pope Leo XIII emphasizes the crucial role of the
Church in alleviating the plight of the working class. In fact, he explicitly
states that no satisfactory solutions to the problem can be found through the
actions of all other interested parties �" the State, the wealthy, employers,
and workers �" operating outside religion and the Church. The Church alone,
reflecting the authority of the Gospels, holds and promotes the values that are
necessary to heal divisions and bring about harmony. The contribution of the
Church is not limited to preaching the Good News and guiding people towards a
virtuous life, but it follows words with action through its various
organizations and its support for institutions, laws, and practices that
promote economic justice and social harmony.10 According to the
Pope, the Church’s commitment to justice and the binding of “class to class in
fairness and good feeling,” does not treat these as ultimate goals, but as
provisional steps towards final end of everlasting life in loving union with
God. In the Pope’s view, the very concepts of justice and morality (the concept
of good and evil and its application to human activity) vanish outside the
context of eternal life. This future-oriented view also shapes human attitudes
towards material things, which are transitory and perishable and neither their
abundance nor their deficiency can affect true human happiness. It is the
sacred duty of the Church to hold onto these eternal precepts and proclaim them
with unwavering faith.11 (Par. 21). According to Pope Leo XIII, the power of the Church in
matters of justice and morality rests on its exclusive domain over the
instruments originating from God, received from Jesus Christ, and serving the
purpose of reaching deep into the heart and conscience of men, bringing them
“to act from a motive of duty…(and) to love God and their fellow men.”12
In the Pope’s view, Christian morality has a positive impact even on the
temporal prosperity of communities because it guides men to virtuous behavior,
calls for restraint on greed, teaches people to be satisfied with “frugal
living,” defends the rights of the needy, and encourages people to avoid the
vices that can destroy even large fortunes. Finally, the Church as a champion
of justice has followed word with deed by sustaining many organizations
dedicated to the temporal wellbeing of the needy.13 Another important
role of the State is the protection of the community and all its members. The
State, whose powers proceed from God, must act towards all citizens as a loving
father, the way God would.17 The State has also the obligation to
intervene when there is a threat to the interests of society or any class
therein. With respect to workers, the State has the responsibility to intervene
when working conditions prevent people from attending to their religious
duties, in places where men or women work together or there are factors that
offer opportunities for immoral behavior, when employers treat workers unjustly
or in manner that degrades their dignity as human beings, or where the health
of workers is endangered by the task assigned to them, especially in the case
of women and children.18 The
Pope also stresses that, although the State has the obligation to defend all
citizens, the interests of the poor take precedence over those of the rich. The
latter have the means to protect themselves while the former are defenseless
and need the help of the State. This help is particularly necessary in the case
of the working poor, most of whom belong to the large class of the needy.19 The Pope is also concerned about violence originating from
revolutionaries or from developments associated with labor strikes and calls
for State action in both cases. In the former, the State is called to protect
private property from violent attacks. With respect to the latter, the Pope
acknowledges that strikes usually are caused by workers’ grievances regarding
long hours of work, debilitating working conditions, and inadequate wages, that
affect negatively workers, commerce, and the general public. In this case, the
State needs to act preventively, using its powers to alleviate the potential
causes of these grievances.20 With his statements, the Pope takes a
clear position in defence of both private property and the legitimate rights of
workers. Focusing on the rights of
workers, the Pope points out that the primary interest of man is his soul,
which was made in the likeness of God and which makes all humans equal, rich
and poor alike. Because care of the soul needs time and effort, the Pope
proposes a variety of protective measures: no work on Sunday and special
holidays, no excessive hours of work, and no work to be assigned to women and
children that is not suitable for their physical conditions. The Pope stresses
that the needs of workers for the health of body and soul must be respected and
protected.21
Pope Leo XIII then turns his attention to the issue of
just wages. He does not support the theory that wages must be determined
exclusively through direct negotiations between employer and employee. He
identifies two aspects of labor. First, it is the exclusive property of the
worker who uses it for his gain and has the right to determine whether or not
to work and the remuneration that he wants. Second, labor is necessary for a
person’s survival as it provides the means of his sustenance. As such it is a natural
right. Because everyone has the right to live and because work is the only
means for the poor to earn a livelihood, the offer of wages below what a worker
needs for his survival is a crime.22 According to Pope Leo
XIII, the plight of workers is best addressed through the help of a variety of
private organizations such as benevolent societies, associations of mutual
help, foundations that provide assistance to workers, widows, and orphans in need,
and institutions dedicated to the wellbeing of the young and the elderly. The
most effective of these organizations, according to the Pope, are workmen’s
unions. Their predecessors, the guilds, not only offered mutual support to
workers and improved their wellbeing, but enhanced social welfare through their
promotion of the arts. All these organizations operate within the context of
civil society and represent a “natural right of man.” Therefore, the State
cannot forbid their existence and operation except in cases where their aim is
harmful to society.23
The Pope also stresses the importance of religious organizations that do
works of charity or strengthen the ties of fellowship among people, such a
confraternities, charitable societies, and religious orders. The State has no
right to interfere with the operation of these religious organizations that
serve the needs of body and soul.24 The Pope then makes suggestions
on the organization of labor unions, particularly the need for committees of
employer and employees to settle disputes, and points out two main goals: the
promotion of high employment, and the care of workers throughout their lifetime
by establishing a fund to help workers in cases of accidents, sickness, old
age, and “distress.”25 According to the Pope, only associations
based on Christian principles will be successful in addressing the condition of
workers because they would follow the moral precepts of the Church and their
actions would be driven by the uniting force of charity.26
At the time of
issuing the encyclical Rerum Novarum, the Church was concerned with two
intertwined issues: the plight of workers, and the rising influence of
socialism. Pope Leo XIII counteracted the secular solution of the socialists
based on the common ownership of property with a proposal anchored on two
fundamental pillars: private property and moral guidance of the Church. Humans
are the only creatures with a soul that reflects God’s semblance. They not only
have a right to life but a natural right to a standard of living that promotes
both physical and spiritual wellbeing. According to the Pope, this goal is best
achieved through the protection of private property, which allows workers,
through thrift and virtuous behavior, to gain economic independence. For
workers without property, the provision of a living wage and humane working
conditions is best achieved through private institutions and organizations,
chief among which are labor unions. In the Pope’s plan, the actions of
individuals and associations will be guided by the Church which is the only
body with the authority to address spiritual needs. In the Pope’s plan there is not much room for the
State. Its role is largely confined to the promotion of private property, the
protection of persons and property, and the establishment of a legal system
that maintains peace and social order. Rerum Novarum does not assign any
redistributional functions to the State, for such a function would move the
State towards socialism. The task of improving the lot of workers would be
performed by private property and various private organizations, primarily
labor unions, and the plight of the poor would be alleviated by the generosity
of fellow men guided by the Church, acting according to the Gospels, and driven
by Christian charity. Because spiritual health is superior to material wellbeing for creatures intent on gaining eternal
life, the fundamental institution in society is the Church, not the State.
Pope Pius XI: Quadragesimo Anno Pope Pius XI was born Ambrosio Damiano Achille Ratti
on the 31st of May 1857 at Desio in Lombardy. His mother was Teresa
Ratti and his father Francesco, a rich owner of a silk factory. He had four brothers and a sister. At the age
of ten (1867) Ambrosio entered the seminary and was ordained twelve years later
(1879). He earned three degrees at the Gregorian university in Rome:
philosophy, canon law, and theology. From 1882 to 1888 he was a professor at
the Seminary in Padua, from 188 to 1906 held the position of expert paleographer
at the Ambrosian Library in Milan, and over the following three years he was
its director. From 1911 to 1917 he was employed by the Vatican library, first
as deputy prefect (1911-14) and later as its prefect (1914-17). In 1918 Pope
Benedict XV named him papal representative to Poland and a year later elevated
him to apostolic nuncio. In 1921,
Ambrosio was archbishop of Milan and was made cardinal. A year later, the 6th
of February 1922, he was elected Pope. His papacy lasted 17 years and he died
in Rome on the 10th of
February 1939. Pope Pius XI lived in
a very challenging period for the Church. In Italy, he grew up in a political
environment hostile to the Church because, after the Italian unification when
he was 4 years old, the new rulers had anticlerical tendencies. The four years
of World War I thrust Europe into a state of uncertainty. As papal
representative and later nuncio to Poland, he could almost observe
personally the developments in Russia, where the Bolsheviks took power in 1917.
The post-war period was marked by violence, especially in Italy where the
fights between Left (socialists) and Right (fascists) intensified. The later
faction won and its leader, Benito Mussolini, after an armed march to Rome in
1922, was appointed prime minister by king Victor Emanuel III. A skilful
negotiator, in 1929 the Pope was able to reach an agreement with the new
government regarding the situation of the Vatican and religious freedom (Patti
Lateranensi or Concordato). In October of the same year, the stock
market in the United States crashed and created an international economic
crisis that lasted a decade and was known as the Great Depression. In Germany,
the Great Depression compounded the depressing economic effects of the war
reparations and prepared fertile ground for a new nationalist party. With the
help of the conservatives, its leader (Adolf Hitler) was elected Chancellor in
1933. It was in this environment, dangerous for the Church and for the entire world, that the encyclical Quadragesimo
Anno was released on the 15th of March 1931.
The first 39 paragraphs of this encyclical highlight
the main elements of Rerum Novarum and discuss its main effects on
scholarship and policymaking. Pope Pius XI then points out that, despite the
research and discussions engendered by Rerum Novarum, there still remain
doubts about the correct interpretation of some of the statements and
conclusions therein. It is the purpose of Quadragesimo Anno to offer
some clarification. Before turning to specifics, the Pope clarifies that,
although economics is concerned with material things while moral science
addresses ethical issues, the two are intertwined because both deal with human
behavior. However, according to the Pope, issues of material nature are
subordinate to moral laws which deal with the ultimate goal of human life which
is our eternal union with God. With the above proviso, Pope Pius XI begins his
clarification of the issues arising from Rerum Novarum, starting with
private property. Pope Pius XI reaffirms the natural right to private
property, emphasizing that it serves a dual purpose: the interest of
individuals and families, and the common good. He then warns that this right
must be defended from the “twin rocks of shipwreck”: the individualism of
liberalism and the collectivism of socialism. This is an extension of the
criticism of Pope Leo XIII who focused entirely on the latter. The Pope also
points out that ownership of private property is separate from its use and
cannot be forfeited due to lack of use or to abuse. Because private property
has both individual and social character, the Pope suggests that its use for
personal benefit is circumscribed by the requirements of the common good. In
other words, only those uses of private property that benefit or do no harm to
the common good are legitimate. The rules for determining the legitimate uses
of private property, to be based on natural law, are the responsibility of the
State. This statement by Pius XI goes beyond Rerum Novarum and assigns
to the State an expanded role not envisioned by Pope Leo XIII. According to
Pope Pius XI, the State has the responsibility to promulgate and enforce laws
aimed at what economists call negative externalities, i.e. the injurious
effects of actions by utility-maximizing individuals on the wellbeing of
others. In a more modern context, the State has the legal duty to prevent or
penalize any activity that endangers the natural environment, including the
atmosphere, because environmental degradation is detrimental to the common
good. The social character of private property also prevents
the owners of private property from using the entirety of its fruits for
personal benefit. According to Pope Pius XI, property owners are entitled to
the returns necessary “to sustain life fittingly and with dignity,” but are
required by “Sacred Scriptures” and by “a very grave precept,” to give away the
excess. The Pope also suggests that the best use of “munificence” is to
increase employment, an action that through the expansion of economy activity would
benefit both individual workers and society as a whole.1 Pope Pius XI supports Pope Leo XIII’s view that
production requires the use of both labor and capital. Therefore, he proposes
that both are entitled to a share of the proceeds from economic activity. The
question is: how are these shares to be determined? The Pope points out that
historically capital has been able to appropriate the lion’s share, leaving to
workers less than what they need “to restore and renew …strength.”2
While renewing the Church’s opposition to the collectivism of socialism, the
Pope also rejects “Manchesterian liberalism” and the doctrine that the
accumulation of capital is a natural right of the rich. In this respect, Pope
Pius XI diverges from Pope Leo XIII. The latter in Rerum Novarum
criticized only socialism. With the experience of the Great Depression, the
former observed the failures of the unfettered market economy, and his scathing
criticism was levelled equally to socialism and liberalism. In the Pope’s view,
the question of distribution can be resolved only with reference to natural law
which requires that production serves “the need of mankind in fixed and stable
order.”3 The Pope further explains that increases in a nation’s
production and wealth must be distributed according to “social justice”, i.e.
in a manner that promotes the advancement of everyone and leaves “inviolate”
the common good of society. The Pope then notes that this condition has not
been met by the current economic system because of the great disparity between
condition is “the few exceedingly rich and the unnumbered propertyless.”4
He considers this unequal distribution of income and wealth not just sinful but
“grave evils” and calls for a redress in “conformity with the norms of the
common good, that is, social justice.”5 For Pope Pius XI, the
task of the Church regarding social justice, now and as proposed earlier by
Pope Leo XIII, is taking care of propertyless workers. While recognizing that
in the more developed countries the living conditions of workers have improved,
the Pope also acknowledges that the expansion of industrial activity and
manufacturing in many countries has increased substantially the number of wage
earners living in conditions so unstable and precarious that “their groans cry
to God from the earth.”6 To these should be added the countless farm workers who earn subsistence wages and are incapable
of ever acquiring property. Reiterating that the extreme concentration of
income and wealth in the hands of a few represents an unjust distribution of
the fruits of production, the Pope emphasizes the urgent need to redress this
grave injustice by offering workers the capacity to gain greater economic
security through the acquisition of private property. For the Pope, the
widespread capacity of workers to own capital is the most effective antidote to
the collectivism of socialism: not common ownership of capital, but widespread
ownership of capital by the common man. It is through measures that reduce
glaring inequalities of income and wealth by spreading the ownership of capital
that societies can defend “order, peace, and tranquillity” from “agitators and
revolution.”7
Since workers have no other means to acquire capital
than through the rental of their labor services and through thrift, in the
central part of the encyclical the Pope turns his attention to wage setting. He
starts by pointing out that this is a complex issue that does not offer simple
solutions, and that the determination of a just wage depends on a variety of
factors. He then stresses that work has a social as well as a personal aspect,
which implies that wage determination cannot be based exclusively on private
contracts between employer and employee. To bear its fruits, says the Pope,
labor must operate within “a social and juridical order,” and all the
components of the economic system must work cooperatively, recognizing their
interdependence.8 Pope Pius XI indicates that the dual character of
human work leads to important conclusions. The first conclusion is that a
worker is entitled to a living wage, i.e. a wage that can support him and his
family. According to Pope, while higher wages may be determined by the
unfettered labor market, the bottom wage is not determined by employer-employee
bargaining but by the needs of workers and their families. The second
conclusion is that other members of the family have also the duty to contribute
according to their capacities. However, it is “grossly wrong” to take advantage
of young people and women, and it is “an intolerable abuse” when married women
are forced to seek gainful employment outside their home, even at the cost of
neglecting their domestic duties and care of their children, because of the low
wages received by their husbands. The Pope suggests that in the cases where a
worker is not paid a living wage, there is a need for external
intervention. The Pope identifies two situations where a business
may not be able to pay a living wage, and suggests appropriate remedies. The first is the case where a firm does not
have sufficient financial resources because of poor organization,
mismanagement, or an uncooperative workforce. The second case refers to the
situation where a firm lacks adequate financial resources because it is
burdened by higher costs imposed by suppliers and other economic agents and/or
the inability of selling its products at fair prices. In the first case, the
causes are internal to the firm and can be eliminated by reforms developed and
implemented jointly by employees and workers. As a possible solution the Pope
suggests a form of joint management and profits sharing. In the second case,
the causes are external to the firm and the redress may require public
intervention. This is another situation that calls for action of the State. Pope Pius XI then focuses on the entire wage
structure, emphasizing that it should not be left to market powers alone, but
should be designed for the purpose of promoting the common good of society. The
Pope identifies two aspects of this economic common good. The first, mentioned
earlier, requires a wage structure that provides thrifty workers the capacity
to acquire private property. The second is the promotion of high levels of
employment. Pointing out that both excessive increases or reduction in wages are
counterproductive, the Pope suggests that the maintenance of high levels of
employment can be achieved through a wage structure that exhibits a low degree
of inequality. The Pope also stresses that, when prices are in the proper
proportion to such a wage structure, a nation will prosper and everyone will
partake of this prosperity.9 Pope Pius XI then turns to the reform of institutions
and the strengthening of morals as a means of increasing further social
welfare. First, he focuses on the State, acknowledging that its expanding role
has been caused by the rise of “individualism” which destroyed the rich social
fabric that held society together. The need to replace the vanished
institutions and organizations of mutual support has forced the State to take
on responsibilities that are not germane to its nature. With respect to the
role of the State, the Pope introduces the principle of subsidiarity which
states that a higher level of any institution can only assume responsibilities
that cannot be properly fulfilled by a lower-level entity. For the Pope, the
violation of this principle is “a grave evil and disturbance of right order.”10
According to the principle of
subsidiarity, the Pope assigns to the State (or central government) the tasks
of “directing, watching, urging, restraining.”11 In this framework, the State performs a supervisory role
and does not have the responsibility to deliver programs directly12
Noting a deepening conflict between classes that has
led to “enmity and strife,” particularly between workers and employers, the
Pope stresses that a primary responsibility of the State is to restore harmony
among classes and re-establish and strengthen labor unions. The Pope emphasizes
that labor is not just another commodity to be bought and sold in the market,
but is a property of human beings who, as God’s creation, have a personal
dignity that must be respected. It is the neglect of human dignity that has
transformed the labor market into “a battlefield” and is undermining the
stability of the social order. As a remedy to “this grave evil,” the Pope
proposes the establishment of self-governing organizations patterned after the
medieval guilds, i.e. by industry or profession, where workers find their
natural place in accordance with the functions their perform.13 According to the Pope, social order will prevail
through the harmonious relationships between workers and employers within each
organization and cooperation among the various organizations. Each organization
should be able to choose freely its structure and method of operation, always
taking into consideration justice and the common good.14 The Pope then explains why the unfettered free market
is not suitable for generating the right order in the economy. First, the free
market has been like a “poisoned spring,” from which have flown the injurious
economic consequences of individualism. In particular, the individualism that
underlies competition in the free market has destroyed the moral foundations of
economic life. Second, history and especially the recent events associated with
the Great Depression, have shown that the free market does not possess the
capacity to offer the “true and effective principle” that is needed to direct
and bring order to economic life. Equally ineffective would be the attempt to
establish such a principle through a dictatorship. For the Pope, the proper
solution is a framework of institutions imbued with the noble virtues of social
justice and charity. Only the cooperative activity of such organizations can
deliver a judicial and social system capable of providing order to economic
life. This system, which has charity as its soul, needs to be protected and
defended by the public authorities. Given the increasing economic
interdependence of nations, such national order would also lead to
international cooperation.15 Turning to specifics, the Pope notes the formation of
a variety of “syndicates and corporations,” and offers his comments. First, he
points out that the civic authorities themselves are a special form of
syndicate which operates as a monopoly because it is the sole entity with the
power to protect the rights of workers and employers and to regulate their
organizations. Employee and employer organizations are represented by their
delegates. Although they operate as private entities, they effectively serve as
“organs of the State,” because they operate under the State’s juridical system.
Due to the special status of these syndicates, strikes and lockouts are not
permitted, and unresolved conflicts are to be settled by the State.16 Pope Pius XI identified a major advantage of his
proposal for economic and social order: the peaceful cooperation among classes
and a public authority that seeks order and justice will effectively eliminate
any interest on the part of the population to form socialist organizations. He
then responded to potential objections that the State, with the expanded
responsibilities assigned to it, may usurp activities naturally performed by
private agents, and that the new syndicates may become politicized, serving the
interest of their leaders instead of seeking social order. According to the
Pope, these potential shortfalls may be avoided through the broad participation
of virtuous men. In particular, he suggests the involvement of people with
technical and occupational knowledge and experience, imbued with Catholic
principles, and the contribution and apostolate of the active laity, operating under the guidance of the
Church.17 The Pope stresses that a perfect social order can be
achieved only through the reform of morality. He notes that there used to exist
a social system akin to the one he has
proposed, which has been destroyed not by its inability to adjust to changing
conditions but because of men driven by excessive self-interest, disregard for
the well-being of their neighbors, and the refusal to accept the limitations of
a just system of public regulations. To repair the damage of this human
attitude that destroys social order requires a complete reform of morality.18
Before discussing the
details of such reform, the Pope notes a variety of changes since the
publication of Rerum Novarum. The first is the expansion of the
“capitalist” system throughout many countries, spreading its advantages and
vices and altering the social order. This development was associated with
deteriorating conditions of workers, as business owners acquired more economic
power which allowed them to appropriate a larger share of the income from
production, a practice that violated both the dignity of workers and
social justice. In the agriculture sector, it was paralleled by hardships for
both farm workers and small landowners.19 Another important
development was the evolution of
socialism, which at the time of Pope Leo XIII encompassed a variety of
streams that coalesced around the principle of collectivism. By the time of the
writing of Quadagesimo Anno, the old socialism had been split into two
streams: communism and new socialism. The first incorporated the old ideology
of collectivism while the latter was more moderate and supported both public
and private ownership of resources. The Pope then presents a critical
evaluation of these two economic systems and of liberalism (the capitalist
system).
With respect to communism, Pope Pius XI, referring to
the criticism of Pope Leo XIII, summarizes its major shortcoming. Communism
intensifies class struggles, promotes the total elimination of private
property, and practices enmity versus the Church and God. Evidence of the
“impious and iniquitous” character of communism is found in the destruction it
created all over eastern Europe and Asia. Pope Pius XI reserved even more scathing criticism for
the capitalist economic system. He started by pointing out the high
concentration of wealth in the hands of a few and the resulting power and
“despotic economic dictatorship” that bestows on them. Moreover, the wealthiest
people are not only owners of real property, land and factories, but also trustees
and managers of financial funds. These can control the entire economy by
manipulating money and credit. The concentration of wealth and economic power has
unleashed a struggle which ends with the survival of the economically
strongest. In the process it has generated three conflicts: the struggle to
gain supremacy within the private sector; the fight to usurp the power of the
State and use it for its own gain; and the conflict among nations, which also
seek supremacy through power. The Pope shows a keen
understanding of the dynamics of the unconstrained market economy and
identifies several of its features. First, a system of free competition is not
stable, but has the tendency to destroy itself. Second, the internal
destruction of the free market leads to economic dictatorship. Thus, both the
free market and the collectivist ideology reach the same end. Third, the
unchecked quest for power has fuelled greed and has made the life of the
multitude “tragically hard, inexorable and cruel.”20 Fourth, in an
allusion to fascism, the Pope condemns the “intermingling and shameful
confusion” of the respective responsibilities of the State and of the private
sector. Such a merger leads to a degradation of the State which is transformed into a servant of the “passion
and greed of men,” instead of promoting the common good.21
In the context of an economic order, the Pope has a
more favorable view of the new socialism because it rejects violent solutions
to conflicts and class struggles, and accepts the legitimacy of both private
and public property. According to the Pope, the economic program of the new
socialism is consistent with the “the truths” of “the Christian tradition,” and
the “demands” of “Christian reformers.” Still, it offers an incomplete program
of social justice compared to Christian teaching and its concept of a just
society differs greatly from Christian values. The Pope stresses that man was
created as a social being and the development of hisabilities is ordained by
God and serves His plan. Therefore, through the virtuous use of his faculties
man can gain both temporal wellbeing and eternal life. By contrast, socialism
addresses the material demands alone. To the extent that it generates efficiency
gains through a more effective division of labor, socialism may improve
production and social welfare. The socialization of economic activity, however,
leads to some loss of freedom. In the socialist system, people are asked to
trade freedom for potential productivity gains. Moreover, socialism does not
possess a moral compass that recognizes the dignity of humans as God’s
creation. Therefore, it asks people to compromise their freedom and their souls
for material gain. The Pope then stresses that, because it lacks the proper
Christian foundation, socialism is “irreconcilable with Christianity.” In the
Pope’s view, it is not possible to be at the same time a Christian and a
socialist.22 The Pope condemns the indoctrination of young people
with the Godless ideology of socialism and attributes it to the failures of the
market economy. In his view, liberalism
begets socialism which in turn gives way to Bolshevism. He also identifies some of the economic developments
that are alienating young people and attracting them to socialism, particularly
men who, lacking Christian charity and a sense of justice, exploit workers for
their own profit, and other men who use religion to protect their unjust
behavior. In the Pope’s view, the only way to restore economic order, promote
social justice, and guide the young to return to the “maternal bosom of the
Church,” is a thorough reform of morals and a “renewal of the Christian
spirit.” In the absence of this renewal, reforming the institutions and
instruments of social reform is equivalent to building a house foundation on
sandy soil.23 The Pope reiterates his condemnation of the three
leading economic systems �" Liberalism, Communism, and New Socialism �" on
grounds that they are inconsistent with the teachings of the Gospel. While
focusing exclusively on the material needs of men, these systems not only
ignore their spiritual needs, but are a major obstacle for achieving eternal
life. The Pope then identifies the behavioral and institutional shortcomings
that have led men to “break God’s laws and trample upon the rights of their
neighbors.”24 They include, “unbridled and sordid greed”,
“disordered passions of the soul” which have led to a preference for material
things over eternal life, the “unrestricted market” which has opened the door
to “caprice and greed” and has promoted the pursuit of quick profits by any
means, laws to promote business activity that, while reducing risks, have
permitted “the most sordid licence” and the lack of accountability, and fraud
by financial managers in the administration of workers’ savings.25 According to the Pope, “these evils” could have been
prevented if the government had enforced a system of moral restraint. This
restraint was not imposed because rationalism had created new economic theories
that rejected moral laws and any restraint on human passions. The end result
has been a society where everyone seeks his own personal interest without
concern for others and pursues the accumulation of wealth by any means.
Moreover, the immoral behavior of business leaders has spread to the working class
through poor working and living conditions and has fueled envy and greed. Thus,
men and women have become “corrupted and degraded.”26 Pope Pius XI argues
that any effort towards redressing these deplorable conditions is bound to fail
unless it is grounded in the “marvelous unity of the Divine plan.”27 This means that reforms can expect success
only when all human activity is directed not solely at the satisfaction of
material needs, but at the achievement of the ultimate goal, the eternal union
with God. The Pope does not condemn the desire for a comfortable lifestyle
according to one’s social position, as long as it conforms with God’s laws and
does not impair the rights of others. By placing human activity in the context
of God’s plan, both the production and distribution of wealth will conform to
the principles of equity and justice. Moreover, the inordinate love of wealth
which is the “grave sin of our times,” will be restrained by Christian
moderation. In this social transformation, the leading role belongs to charity.
Commutative justice may eliminate some of the causes of social disorder, but
cannot bind the minds and hearts of men into a harmonious union. It is charity
that unites men into a just society by fostering cooperation towards the
attainment of a common good, and it is charity that transforms
our neighbor into our brother and our sister. Through charity the rich and
powerful will forget their selfishness and see Christ in the face of the poor,
and workers will forgo their envy and will accept their position in society,
aware that their work, even the most menial one, is a noble activity and
contributes to the common good.28
In the final part of the encyclical, the Pope focuses
on moral reform. He first praises labor leaders working for the common good,
young workers who are striving to follow the Lord, those who are studying
social problems, and those who are actively engaged in peace, social justice,
and harmony in the world. He then points out there is still more work to do to
bring back into the fold those who have gone astray. Given the gravity of the
situation, the Pope suggests that to achieve success there is the need of an
army of soldiers for Christ. With the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, Pope
Pius XI expands on the themes first elaborated by Pope Leo XIII I his
encyclical Rerum Novarum and presents a complete plan for restoring
economic and social order in the context of social justice. He starts by
identifying the ills of the time, and particularly the poor economic conditions
of workers. Then he condemns the prevailing forms of economic and social
organization. Communism is found wanting primarily because it destroys personal
freedom by usurping the right to private property. The new socialism contains
elements of Catholic social teaching, but its exclusive focus on material
wellbeing ignores the spiritual needs of human beings, degrades their
relationship with God, and negates the ultimate goal of life, which is not
temporal pleasure but eternal happiness. The Pope reserves his harshest
criticism for Liberalism. In his view, individualism, which forms the
behavioral foundation of liberalism, has led to immoderate greed, unbounded
desire for wealth, disregard for the natural needs of others, abuse of workers’
rights, the weakening of economic and social institutions, the fragmentation of
the social order, and moral decay. The Pope’s plan for
restoring economic and social order rests on two fundamental pillars: the
widespread right to private property and the dignity of work. The Pope stresses
their dual purpose: to satisfy personal needs and to enhance the common good.
Unlike Liberalism, which promotes the fulfillment of human desires as the
ultimate goal in life, in the Pope’s plan personal gains are pursued in the
context of the common good, and the latter takes priority. While Liberalism
focuses only on the material side of life, the Pope considers the whole person,
not in isolation but as an integral member of society, for whose wellbeing he
cares as much as for his own. Private property and work are the Pope’s
preferred instruments for ensuring that all workers and their families can
enjoy a comfortable living standard according to their social status and have
the capacity to satisfy both their material and spiritual needs as beings
created in the image of God.
The dual character of work, to provide for personal
needs and to enhance the common good, implies that society’s well-being will be
improved by employment. For this reason, the Pope recommends that both business
owners and the State make great efforts to promote and maintain high levels of
employment. The Pope also stresses that, because human beings were created in
the image of God, they possess inherent dignity and so does their work
regardless of the productive activities they perform. This means that the
determination of wages and working conditions cannot be left entirely to the
mercy of the labor market, where there is uneven power between employer and
employee. The inherent dignity of human beings requires that as a minimum
workers receive a living wage for themselves and for their families, regardless
of the value of what they produce. For the determination of working conditions
and wages above the minimum, the Pope relies on the establishment of employer
and employee organization and their cooperation within a framework of social
justice. The Pope recognizes that production requires both labor and capital
and that both factors are entitled to compensation. When the relationship
between employer and employee organizations is guided by Christian principles,
the result will be a just distribution of the income from production. According
to the Pope, justice also requires that the share assigned to labor will be
distributed among workers in a manner that avoids the creation of wide
disparities in wages. The second pillar of the Pope’s economic reform plan
is the widespread ownership of private property. The combination of living
wages and personal thrift will allow workers to purchase private property,
which will provide them with additional resources and will offer greater
financial security. The industrious use of private property, enhanced by the
interest of the owners to optimize its returns, will all increase society’s
production and income, thus improving the personal economic conditions of workers
and enhancing the common good. Although Pope Pius XI
assigns a greater role for the State than did Pope Leo XIII, this role is still
confined largely to maintain the protection of persons and property, to guard
public order, and to protect the proper functioning of private and public institutions.
There is no mention in Quadragesimo Anno of the role of the State in the redistribution of income and wealth because, in
the Pope’s plan, this redistribution already takes place pre-emptively through
the constrained operation of the market. High employment, living wages, low
wage inequality, and widespread ownership of private property ensure a low
poverty rate and a just distribution of living standards. Unlike the modern
welfare state, where the public sector is engaged in what a call corrective
redistribution, i.e. the undoing of some of the economic inequalities
generated by an unconstrained market, the Pope’s plan relies on preventive
redistribution, i.e. private and public instruments that limit the power of
market forces and reduce the need for ex-post government intervention. This
way, the Pope achieves the same result with a lower level of government
spending and taxation, reduced conflicts between employers and employees,
higher utilization of human resources, and greater social cohesion. In an
environment of stable high employment, living wages, and widespread ownership
of private property, the very needy would be reduced to what the Old Testament
calls “widows and orphans.” With no working poor, the relatively small number
of non-working poor would be taken care by the generosity of well-to-do people
imbued with Christian faith and the spirit of charity. With respect to the operation of private and
public institutions, the Pope emphasizes the principle of subsidiarity
which dictates that a higher-order institution should not appropriate the
functions that can be more efficiently performed by a lower level one.
Pope Pius XI attributes the economic malaise,
institutional malfunctions, and social disorder to the evils of greed, lust,
and envy. In his view, no policy remedies have a chance of success unless these
evils are eliminated. For him, the only solution is a reform of morals rooted in
the Gospels and the teachings of the Church. To that end, he proposes the
active involvement of clergy and religious institutions and organizations, not
only directly but also in raising an army of soldiers of Christ. Pope John Paul II:
Laborem Exercens John Paul II was born
Karol Wojtyla on the 18th of May, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. His
father Karol senior was an officer in the Polish army and his mother, Emilia
Kaczorowska, died when he was 8 years old. His year of birth coincided with
that of Marshall Pilsudski’s victory over the Soviet army, and for the next 19
years he enjoyed a life of freedom which ended with the Nazi invasion in 1939.
After his high school graduation, he moved with his father to Krakow where he
attended Jajellonian University. During the Nazi occupation, Karol worked at a chemical plant and
continued his studies through clandestine classes. A year after his father’s
death in 1941, he decided to become a priest and was ordained in November 1946.
After two years of study in Rome, where he earned his first doctorate, in 1949
Karol was assigned to the Parish of St. Florian in Krakow. He then completed
his second doctorate and began teaching philosophy and ethics at Jajellonian University before his appointment
as full professor at the Catholic University of Lublik. He also wrote poetry
and in 1960 published a book of nonfiction entitled Love and Responsibility.
Impressed by his ability to operate effectively under the constraints of
Soviet rule, Pope Pius XII in 1958 appointed him auxiliary Bishop of Krakow.
His performance during the first part of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65)
drew the attention of Pope Paul VI who appointed him Archbishop of Krakow. In
1967, he was elevated to cardinal and worked closely with Poland’s senior
cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. Two years later, cardinal Wojtyla published an
important philosophical work entitled The Acting Person in which he
argued that the true personality is determined by a person’s moral actions.
After the sudden death of Pope John Paul II on the 28th of September
1978, the following Conclave elected him Pope on the 16th of October
of the same year, and he took the name of John Paul II. He died in Vatican City
on the 2nd of April 2005. In his long tenure of 26 years as Pontiff,
the third longest after Saint Peter and Pius IX (1846-78), Pope John Paul Pope
issued 14 encyclicals. For the purpose of this book I will review only two: Laborem
Exercens (14 September 1981) and Centesimus Annus (1 May 1991).
While Rerum
Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno had been inspired by global or European developments �" for the former the
economic and social conditions that provided fertile ground for socialist
ideologies and practices, and for the latter the early years of the Great
Depression �" Laborem Exercens was largely a response to workers’ unrest
in Soviet-controlled Poland. Rising prices had fueled workers’ protests and
strikes throughout the 1970s. The government’s attempt to raise prices in 1976
led to more strikes and the formation of the Workers’ Defense Committee (KOR).
The Polish labor movement was emboldened by the election of cardinal Wojtyla as
Pontiff. A year into his tenure, the Pope visited his native country, and
during the celebration of Mass in Warsaw he promoted human rights, religious
freedom, and national identity, and exhorted the faithful never to be afraid.
Following the Pope’s visit, millions of Polish workers joined the ranks of the
union movement. In 1980, when the government decreed an increase in the price
of meat, new demonstrations and strikes were followed by the formation of a
trade union/political movement
named Solidarity. Its leader was Lech Walesa and its birthplace the
Lenin shipyards in Gdansk.
Laborem
Exercens is composed of six
parts: A Blessing, I. Introduction, II. Work and man, III. Conflict between
labor and capital in the present phase of history, IV. Rights of Workers, and
V. Elements for a spirituality of work. With the exception of the blessing,
each of the parts contains several sections for a total of 27 sections. In the Blessing,
the Pope defined work as a human activity through which man earns his daily
bread, contributes to scientific and technological progress, and promotes the
cultural and moral advancement of society. According to the Pope, work is a
unique property of man which defines his very nature. Work is not just what man
does, it is part of what he is. I.Introduction
(sections 1-3). The Pope
points out that work not only confers dignity to man, but is also a source of
suffering, not just because he is destined to earn a living with “the sweat of
his brow,” but because work is a social activity which is performed “in the
midst of many tensions, conflicts, and crises.” However, through suffering work
brings us closer to Christ and helps us partake in the death and resurrection
of the Lord. As Christ suffered and was crucified working towards bringing the
Kingdom of God to mankind on earth, we too as Christians work together for the
same end sharing the suffering of Christ. While acknowledging that both Rerum
Novarum and Quadaigesimo Anno focused on a social justice plan that
aimed at improving the working and living conditions of workers within a given
country, the Pope emphasized that over time, in response to worldwide economic
and social developments, the Church has placed the “labor question” within a
broader context which includes conflicts within and between countries,
injustices at a global level, and threats to world peace. According to the
Pope, since the issues of class struggle, inequality, and injustice, have
expanded to global dimensions, they ought to be analyzed in that context.
Moreover, it is the duty of the Church to unmask global economic and social
injustices and demand urgent action to redress them. The Pope explains that the
body of Church writings known as the “social teachings” has its roots in the
Sacred Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the Gospels. He also emphasizes
that human work is at the center of the “social question” addressed by the
Church, therefore, this issue cannot be resolved without dealing first with
issues surrounding the definition, meaning, and role of human work. II. Work and
Man (sections 4-10). The Pope points out that the Church’s conviction of
the crucial role that work plays in a man’s life is based on the heritage of
humanistic and social sciences and on the word of God revealed in the Holy
Scriptures. Therefore, this conviction is based on both intellect and faith. In
his focus on the biblical roots of work, the Pope is quite selective as he
refers to two specific verses of the Genesis, 1:27 (God created
mankind in his own image) and 1:28 (God blessed them and said…fill the
earth and subdue it). In his view, man partakes in the image of God by
following the mandate “to subdue, to dominate, earth.” Work aimed at achieving
this goal is the essence of man because it reflects God’s creative endeavor. As
God worked to create “all that is visible and invisible,” (Nicene credo) so
man’s dominion of the earth through work is a continuation of the Divine
activity. Moreover, for the Pope the definition of earth is very broad and
extends to any parts of the universe that can be influenced by man and to all
resources that man’s ingenuity is able to discover and develop for the
satisfaction of his needs. This process of dominion of the earth through work
is universal and transcends time and place. It has evolved through generations
and man has evolved with it. Human work over time has reshaped our planet and,
in the process, has also reshaped man himself.
The Pope
identifies two aspects of work: objective and subjective. The objective side
refers to the transformation of earth brought about by human work throughout
millennia, starting with the cultivation of crops and the domestication of
animals and continued with the development of industrial machinery and the
accelerating advances in science and technology. Referring to technological
change, the Pope acknowledges that it can be a friend of man, when it is
complementary to human work and helps raise labor productivity and living
standards, but can also be an enemy when it replaces human work and “reduces
man to the status of its slave.” In the latter case, technological change
raises fundamental ethical/social issues that must be addressed urgently by State
and Church. In the subjective
sense, work is not just the expense of human energy in the performance of a
given task, but a human activity that involves the full man. Human work is the
result of the conscious decision by man, a being created by God in his own
image for the purpose of “subduing” the earth in accordance with God’s plan. As
God is not defined by His act of creation, so man is not defined by the type of
work he does. The dignity of human work does not rest on what kind of work man
does, but on the fact that it is being done by man. Man has intrinsic dignity
as a being created in the image of God. It is man that confers dignity to work. From an
ethical perspective, the most menial task has the same dignity as the work of a
top scientist. This means that a social structure where people are separated
into classes according to the jobs they hold, which are reflected in the wealth
they possess, is not consistent with God’s plan for humanity and with the
social teachings of the Catholic Church.
The Pope points
out that in the “materialistic and economistic thought” that has evolved from
the beginning of industrialization work is considered as a tradeable
merchandise that humans exchange for cash. The focus on the objective side of
work reverses God’s ordering that gives priority to work as a defining element
of men’s identity. Human work is not just another input into the production
process as in the case of machines, but the willful activity of beings created
in the image of God. For the Pope, any economic system that treats human work
as a productive input separate from man should be called capitalism because it
considers capital as the main factor of production and, with respect to work,
equates man to a machine. Noting that the process of economic development leads to the elimination
of certain jobs and the creation of other ones, the Pope points out that
historically this process has led to the exploitation of workers, the
deterioration of working conditions, and the “degradation of man as the subject
of work.” It has also resulted in the proletarization of the work force,
especially in the case of professions for which economic change has reduced the
demand for their services. According to the Pope, the ideological underpinnings
of these developments were provided by the liberal socio-political system which
treats capital as the engine of growth and labor as a subsidiary factor of
production. The devaluation of workers’ rights has heightened the need for
solidarity among all categories of workers and has stimulated the formation of
organizations devoted to the defense of labor rights. The Pope urges the
expansion of these movements of solidarity worldwide and promises that the
Church will work side by side with the poor and on their behalf, and will be
always present in word and in action whenever and wherever workers are
exploited and rampant poverty and hunger degrade human beings. The Pope
concludes Part II by elaborating on a special function work, the formation of
family life which is a natural right of every man and woman. Work not only
provides the necessary means for family formation, but through work within a
family context man reaches his highest fulfillment as a human being. The family
also serves as a primary educational tool as its members learn from each other
and cooperate for the common good of the unit. This way, work within the family
acquires social and ethical dimensions. As “a community made possible by work,”
the family forms the cornerstone of a society founded on the dignity of the
working man. While societies evolve over time, humans remain connected through generations and
through these links work also benefits the common good as it “serves to add to
the heritage of the whole human family.” Acknowledging the relentless pace of
economic transformation, the Pope warns that the preeminence of the subjective
dimension of work may be undermined by rapid technological change, which can be
good insofar as it does not give priority to the objective dimension of work
and does not deprive workers of their innate dignity and their inalienable
rights.
In Part III
(sections 11-15), the Pope refers to the conflict between labor and capital and
points out that this conflict originated from the process of industrial
development and the behavior of the small number of entrepreneurs relative to
the masses of workers who, seeking to maximize their profits, used their power
to depress wages and impose poor working conditions. At the ideological level
it was transformed into a conflict between Liberalism (expression of
capitalism) and Marxism (expression of communism). Unlike Pope Pius XI, who
offered a scathing criticism of liberalism, communism, and modern socialism,
Pope John Paul II avoids elaborating on these ideological issues and focuses
entirely on human work which is “positive and creative, educational and
meritorious,” and forms the basis of judgments regarding human rights.
The Pope emphasizes
that, when analyzing the relationship between labor and capital, we must abide
by a fundamental and long-standing principle of Church teaching: the priority
of labor over capital. According to the Pope, dominion over the earth means
that all natural resources are at the disposal of man, but their capacity to
satisfy human needs requires effort. It is only through work that man obeys the
biblical command. All natural resources are God’s gift to man to be used for
his own good through work. While labor possesses two dimensions, and in the
subjective dimension is a defining feature of human beings, capital has only an
objective character, composed of two parts; natural resources and the machinery
and equipment that has been invented and developed through man’s intellectual
efforts over the centuries. Thus, all instruments used in the production
process are “the result of work.” Only man is a person possessing innate
dignity. Natural resources and instruments of production are things over which
man has dominion. Because man is the subject of work, capital is subordinate to
labor.
The Pope stresses that labor and capital are “inseparably linked” in a
manner that gives people priority over things. This means that an economic
system has moral legitimacy only to the extent to which it respects the
priority of labor over capital and the subjectivity of work in all phases of
production. Through work, man gains two kinds of inheritance: natural resources
as gifts from God, and the human knowledge passed
from generation to generation and accumulated over time. Work is a major link
between persons, locally, internationally, and intergenerationally.
Over time and
through the process of industrialization the bond between labor and capital has
been severed and their cooperative link has been transformed into opposition
between two factors of production and this has often led to bitter conflict and
the erosion of the social structure. The evolution of this process has been
facilitated first by new practices and then by a new line of economic thought
that the Pope calls economism. This, in turn, gave rise to a
materialistic philosophy which gives priority to material things and relegates
human work to the dependent role of an instrument in the production process. In
this system, economic activity does not glorify human creativity but the goods
that are made available for consumption. Thus, not only things have priority
over persons, but the material supersedes the spiritual. In the Pope’s view,
reversing the grave error propagated by the theory and practice of early
capitalism requires changes in thought, behavior, and institutions directed at
affirming the fundamental principle of the priority of the person over things,
and of human labor over capital.
The separation of
labor from capital also raises the question of the ownership of private
property. Over time this separation has resulted in the establishment of two
distinct groups of people: those who own no means of production (capital) and
earn a living solely through their work, and those who own capital and live off
its returns. Neither Marxism nor Liberalism address the issue satisfactorily.
The former takes away human rights and liberties while the latter appropriates
what rightfully belongs to labor. While the Church upholds the right to own
private property as a vital instrument for improving the economic conditions
and independence of workers, it believes that this is not unconstrained and “is
subordinated to the right to common use.” Moreover, it asserts that the means
of production cannot be “possessed against labor...(but) should serve labor” so
that they may fulfill the primary principle of “the universal destination of
goods and the right to common use of them.” This principle is consistent with
the socialization of capital under proper conditions.
The Pope stresses again that “rigid capitalism,” which uses private
property solely for private gain, is not acceptable, but reiterates that the
other extreme alternative, collectivism, is equally unacceptable. The solution
proposed by the Church involves policies and institutions that protect private
property and promote its use for the benefit of workers. Church proposals
involve joint ownership of means of production, sharing by workers in
management and profits, shareholding by labor, cooperatives, and the
proliferation of “intermediate bodies of economic, social, and cultural purposes.”
The Pope also offers a reminder that human work is not the mere application of
physical and/or mental power, but the willful choice of individuals with
inherent dignity, and specific personal values, capabilities, and needs. As
labor cannot be separated from capital, so work cannot be de-linked from the
person performing it. That means that a worker cannot be treated as an
anonymous “cog in a huge machine.” Therefore, the production system must be
structured in a manner that respects the individuality of workers and offers
them the opportunity for each one of them to feel that he is doing something
meaningful for himself while participating in a collaborative activity.
Ignoring the crucial role of work in defining a person’s identity degrades
workers and injures their souls.
Part IV is
dedicated to the rights of workers and contains eight sections (16-23). The
Pope starts by stressing that, because work has a subjective dimension and is
the willful activity of a person, workers have rights that must be properly
placed within the context of overall human rights. These rights are part of the
relationship between the worker and the employer. With respect to the latter,
the Pope identifies two categories: direct and indirect. The direct employer is
any individual or organization that enters into a labor contract with a worker.
The indirect employer is any organization that, including the State, has
sufficient power to affect the underlying conditions that determine the
relationship between worker and direct
employer. As an example of an indirect employer the Pope mentions the
multinational corporations that, because of their size and economic power,
charge high prices for their products while offering low prices for raw
materials. In this unbalanced economic environment, a direct employer,
especially one operating in a less developed country, often cannot pay living
wages to its workers. This way, multinational corporations not only affect the
labor market at the international level, but contribute to a widening economic
gap between rich and poor nations. The Pope finds this situation reprehensible
and argues that the fundamental principle guiding all economic systems should
not be the maximization of profits but “respect for the objective rights of
workers.” This principle is of extreme
importance because workers’ rights are a fundamental component of human rights
which, in turn, form “the key element of the whole of the social order.”
The Pope also emphasizes that the primary responsibility of indirect
employers, particularly the institutions of public policy, is to maintain high
levels of employment. They also have the moral obligation to provide financial
support for the unemployed and their families, who have a “right to life and
subsistence.” The above duties and obligations involve proper planning but do
not require centralization of decision-making in the hands of governments.
According to the Pope, the desired objectives are better achieved through
effective coordination among various
agencies that preserves the initiative of individuals and organizations.
Because of the increasing global economic interdependence, this type of
coordination is needed also across international borders. The Pope then turns to the question of wages
and “just remuneration.” He places this issue within the context of “the
principle of the common use of goods,” because through labor a worker can
acquire the goods that have been produced for common use. While a single worker
is entitled to a living wage, in the case of a married worker the income he
receives from work must be sufficient to support the entire family without the
need for the spouse to seek gainful employment. On this issue the Pope offers
two options: a living family wage or a living wage for the bread winner and
supplementary financial assistance for mothers who stay at home to take care of
their children. In this respect, the Pope suggests “a social re-evaluation of
the mother’s role.” Because of their
unique role in the family, and therefore in society, it is necessary that
economic systems be structured in a manner that respects the choices of mothers
and does not penalize them for their special role. The Pope also lists a number
of social benefits to which workers ought to be entitled: free or cheap health
care, reasonable work hours, statutory vacations, insurance in case of
accidents, old age pensions, and working conditions “which are not harmful to
the workers’ physical health or to their moral integrity.”
The Pope stresses
the crucial role of the right of association to defend the interests of the
workers, expressed in practice through the formation of labor unions which he
defines “an indispensable element of social life.” He points out that, although
these associations are primarily involved in a struggle for social justice, the
purpose of their operation is not to engage in conflicts against others but to
fight for the rights of workers. Theirs is a constructive, not a destructive
struggle. In fact, cooperation between employers and employees, through their
respective operations has the potential to benefit both as well as the common
good to the extent that it leads to productivity improvements. Labor unions
promote solidarity among workers and their families by offering services that
go beyond higher wages and better working conditions, but they can also
strengthen the social order by helping to solve peacefully through bargaining
potentially divisive conflicts between employers and employees. The Pope suggests
that, although the primary purpose of labor unions is to protect workers’
rights, they need to be aware of the economic environment in which they operate
and of the effects of their actions on the common good. It is the primary focus
on the common good that should guide the behavior of both employer and employee
organizations and lead them to a pattern of cooperation that improves economic
performance, strengthens the social order, and promotes solidarity. The Pope makes a
passionate appeal for the integration of disabled people in the workforce.
Their disabilities do not take away their “innate, sacred, and inviolable
rights.” The primacy of the subjectivity of work requires that the necessary
adjustments be made to the economic system in order to allow the participation
of disabled people in the production process in accordance to their
capabilities. These adjustments include education, training, the elimination of
obstacles to their employment, opportunities for advancement, and just wages.
Finally, the Pope turns to the issue of emigration in search of work. Noting
that this type of emigration is a form of material evil as the native country
loses persons that can contribute to the well-being of society and to the
common good, he stresses that the emigrants remain subjects of work in the host
country, whether they are permanent or temporary workers, and are entitled to
the same rights as the the members of its native population. Depriving them of
those rights would add moral evil to material harm.
In the final part
(sections 24-27) the Pope presents a brief sketch of the spirituality of
work. He starts by emphasizing that in
the activity of work participates the whole person, both body and spirit, and
that the word of God is directed at the whole person. Therefore, work, which
originates from the act of God’s creation and to man gives purpose, identity,
and dignity, is an instrument of salvation. The Church recognizes the spiritual
side of work and its contribution to God’s “salvific plan for man.” Through his
work, man also shares in the action of God’s creation and glorifies His name.
Following God’s creative activity recorded in Genesis, man imitates the Divine
through both work and rest. The latter serves not only to restore man’s body
but also to refresh the soul and strengthen his spiritual relationship with
God. Human work is part of the divine plan because it enhances the well-being
of society as it improves the economic conditions of the workers. This social
component of work, which derives from God, solidifies the bonds of solidarity
and strengthens the fabric of society. The Church teaches us that at the center
of all human activity, and particularly work, there is the common not the
individual, “us” not “I.”
In the last two sections of the encyclical, Pope John Paul II relates
work to Jesus’ life. He first points out that Jesus obeyed His father’s will
through a life dedicated to work. As referred by Saint Peter,1 Jesus
“was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power (and) went about doing good and
healing….” The “good news” presented by the apostles were a “Gospel of Work”
because Jesus himself was a man of work. Thus, we show our Christian faith in
action by being ambassadors of love manifested through our work, as did Saint
Paul. Despite his position of leadership in the early Church, he earned his
keep while visiting the various churches not only to avoid being a
burden, especially on the poorer congregations, but to teach that we all have
obligations for our own well-being and that of the society to which we
belong. Church teachings uphold the
principle that work is necessary for personal development and fulfillment
according to God’s plan and that through work humans “obtain greater justice,
wider brotherhood, and a more humane ordering of social relationships.” The
Pope finally reminds us that work consistent with God’s plan involves toil,
often pain, and sometimes even death, as it happened to Jesus who worked
tirelessly for the kingdom of God on earth. So it is for us. It is through toil
and faithfulness to the point of pain and even death that we can help build “ a
new earth where justice dwells.”
In Labor
Exercens Pope John Paul II reaffirms
some of the principles already expounded by Popes Leo XIII (Rerum
Novarum) and Pius XI (Quadragesimus Annus), presents new principles
regarding labor, and opens some paths that are not fully consistent with
traditional social teachings of the Catholic Church. He reiterates the
fundamental importance of the right to private property, the pivotal role of
work in the fulfillment of the individual and the well-being of society, the
necessity of voluntary associations aimed at protecting workers’ rights
(labor unions), and the requirement that
workers receive a living wage for themselves and for their families. While Leo XIII and
Pius XI stress the dual purpose of work �" to satisfy personal needs and enhance
social well-being �" John Paul II focuses more on the fulfillment of the
individual. For him, through work man obeys God’s command to subdue the earth.
He identifies two aspects of work: objective and subjective. The former refers
to the actual activity (even a donkey performs work) and the latter to the
subject of the work, i.e., a being created by God in his own image). According
to the Pope, work has primacy over capital for two reasons: its subjective
nature and the fact that capital is effectively the accumulation of the fruits
of work over time.
Leo XIII and Pius
XI placed the issue of work and wages within the broader context of different
economic systems, with the former focusing his criticism primarily on various
ideologies and forms of collectivism and the latter directing the most scathing
attack on Liberalism. By contrast, John Pail II analyzes labor in isolation and
limits his comments on the underlying economic system to mild criticism of
Marxism and Liberalism, pointing out that the former takes away the rights of
workers while the latter tramples on them.
In Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II departs from traditional
Church teaching in a variety of ways. In particular, his approach to Catholic
social teaching is too anthropocentric, too individualistic, and focused
excessively on economic growth. Aside from Saint
Francis and, as we shall see later, Pope Francis, the Social Gospel makes
little or no reference to environmental issues. Pope John Paul II seems to go a
step further. He placed man at the center of the universe and treats earth as
an object to be subdued and dominated. Not only is the entire natural world at
the disposal of man to satisfy his needs, but man gains his identity by the act
of sub-doing which, according to the Pope, is commanded by God. In Laborem
Excercens, the terms sub-doing and dominion are profusely sprinkled
throughout the encyclical and referenced to Genesis, but there is no mention
that in Genesis it is also stated that the creation of the natural world
preceded that of man and that God saw that it was good. It is man’s
responsibility to ensure that the entirety of God’s creation remain good as man
proceeds to subdue the earth. The focus of man as the center of all creation
leads also to an overly individualistic approach to work and life. Leo XIII and
Pius XI stressed a dual purpose of work: to satisfy the needs of the worker and
his family, and to promote the common good. For John Paul II, the primary
purpose of work is the self-realization of man. Both Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo
Anno are replete with references to the common good and the well-being of
society. References to these terms are rarely found in Laborem Exercens. Anthropocentrism
and individualism are associated with the Pope’s emphasis on economic growth,
which would lead to high employment levels, a main objective of his labor
policy. This policy, however, is placed outside the framework of the underlying
economic system, an approach opposite that of Leo XIII and Pius XI. The former
expressed strong criticism of communism while the latter reserved his strongest
criticism for liberalism. John Paul II makes a calculated effort to refrain
from attacking the prevalent economic systems in the world. In doing so, he
fails to recognize that the very foundations of his proposed labor policy,
anthropocentrism and individualism, are forces that drive an economic system
which, focusing on economic growth, generates most of the injustices �" widening
inequality of income and wealth, economic fluctuations, the demise of labor
unions, and the exploitation of unprotected labor.
Pope John Paul II:
Centesimus Annus Pope John Paul II
issued the encyclical Centesimus Annus ten years after Laborem
Excercens and seven months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It
is composed of an introduction and six chapters containing a total of 62
sections.
In the introduction, the Pope explains that his new encyclical is part
of a broad range of initiatives and celebrations promoted by the Episcopal
Conferences and by a variety of religious and laical organizations to celebrate
the one hundred anniversary of the
publication of Pope Leo XIII’s seminal encyclical Rerum Novarum. In
Centesimus Annus the Pope presents a “re-reading” of Rerum Novarum
and offers an invitation to revisit the Catholic social teaching tradition in
light of new historical developments and to extend the analysis to potential
future trends. While praising the principles espoused by Leo XIII, John Paul II
finds it necessary to place his analysis in the context of recent global
events, an indication that his interpretation of Catholic social teachings may
deviate from tradition.
In Part I (sections
4-11), the Pope summarizes his interpretation of the major elements of Rerum
Novarum. He starts by placing Leo XIII’s encyclical in the context of the
political, economic, and social developments that had taken place over an
extended period of time. In the political sphere, there were changes in the
structure, power, and scope of government. In the economic field, three changes
were most notable: scientific advances and innovation that have altered the
production process, the emergence of a new form of property (capital), and a
change in the labor market generated by the diffusion of work for hire governed
by firms seeking to maximize profits. The conflict between capital and a new
form of labor which was subordinated to the vagaries of the market and had no
security and no guarantee of stable employment at a living wage split society
into two classes “separated by a deep chasm.” These deepening conflicts
fostered new political ideologies and a “spirit of revolutionary change.”
Concerned about the conflict between workers who could barely survive and the
opulence of capitalists, a conflict that pitted man against man degraded to the
state of wolves, Leo XIII felt compelled to speak out and show the way to a
peaceful resolution based on justice.
A major component
of Leo XIII’s plan is the affirmation of the fundamental rights of workers,
based on the inherent dignity of both work and person. Another fundamental
principle is the right to own private property, tempered by the complimentary
principle of the “universal destination of the earth’s goods.” Pointing out the
private property referenced in Rerum Novarum is largely confined to
land, John Paul II asserts that the same principle applies to other forms of
private property, including capital. Leo XIII’s plan includes other inalienable
rights, the most important of which are the right to form free associations of
employers and employees, and the right to a just wage “sufficient for him to
support himself, his wife and his children.” For Leo XIII, the enforcement of
suitable working conditions and just wages was a duty of the State in its
pursuit of distributive justice.
Leo XIII also criticized the two major social and economic systems: old
socialism (collectivism) and liberalism, the first because it deprives workers
of their rights to own private
property and the latter because it favors the rich and powerful at the expense
of the poor and defenseless. John Paul II reiterates that Rerum Novarum
is an encyclical that reaffirms the Church’s “preferential option for the
poor,” and its support for the rights of workers. It also assigns to the State
the duty to protect those rights and to promote the common good in the context
of private property and the primacy of the individual and the family. In his
view, at the center of Leo XIII’s encyclical stands man with his inherent
dignity deriving from his work and from his nature which originates from the
divine.
In part II
(sections 12-21) John Paul II discusses briefly the main new geopolitical
events and presents a critique of old socialism. He starts by pointing out the
opposition by Leo XIII to the old socialism and its negative economic,
political, and social consequences, and repeating its warning that the cure
(collectivism that eventually turns into absolutism) is worse than the evil
(the concentration of wealth and the oppression of workers). John Paul II adds
that the fundamental failure of socialism arises from its treatment of man as a
subordinate component of a social organization, a factor of production deprived
of freedom of choice, inherent, dignity, and the capacity of ethical choices.
By contrast, the Catholic Church upholds the principle that a person is not
fully realized as an anonymous member of a state machine but his/her membership
in human institutions is based on love and solidarity, beginning from the
family, that operate in freedom and are dedicated to the common good. This way,
the subjectivity of the individual is transformed into the subjectivity of the
community, a dynamic organism that derives its life from the very nature of
man. If, as the socialists claim, man is completely fulfilled within the State,
then God has no place in human life and therefore is irrelevant to the social
order. Thus, atheism is the logical result of socialism. Depriving man of his
connection with the supernatural takes away his font of inherent dignity and
strips him of his unalienable rights. According to John Paul II, communism
tends to view human relationships as a never-ending class struggle, a
perspective that prevents the active search for compromises and peaceful
solutions to disputes. At the international level, this attitude leads to
extreme nationalism and militarism which, internally, is transformed into
intolerance and dictatorial oppression. Thus, under communism the military
complex replaces the capitalists as oppressor of the workers.
While opposing the public control of the means of production, Rerum
Novarum assigns important functions to the State, to be carried out
indirectly through the principle of subsidiarity and directly through
the principle of solidarity. The former relates to the provision of the
appropriate judicial framework that protects individual freedom, the right to
own private property and promotes economic activity which, in
turn, generates high employment and greater wealth. The latter refers to the
State’s obligation to defend the poor and the weak. Among the main
responsibilities of the State referred to in Rerum Novarum are the
protection of workers from unemployment, the assurance of living wages for a
worker and his family, the provision of training to enhance the opportunities
for advancement and raise labor productivity, the protection of labor unions in
the struggle for workers’ rights, and working conditions that not only are safe
but respect human dignity and allow human development and self-fulfillment.
The publication of
Rerum Novarum was followed by the introduction of a variety of reforms,
some by the State and some through the efforts of labor unions and other
voluntary associations. Still, its message was not universally accepted and
this rejection had tragic consequences. According to Pope John Paul II, these
tragic developments resulted from a view of freedom which is detached from
objective truth and a universal moral compass and which takes the form of
unchecked self-interest that ignores the needs of others and any sense of justice.
This grave error led to extreme nationalism associated with militarism, fed by
hatred, resentment, and disdain for justice. The outcomes were bitter class
struggle within a nation, destructive racism, and cruel and wasteful wars. Leo
XIII rejected ideologically-sanctioned hatred and showed a way to peace,
nationally and internationally, based on the recognition that man is not a brute
but carries inside a divine spark.
Reviewing
historical developments, John Paul II notes that the end of World War II did
not lead to lasting peace, but to a form of truce between two parts of a
divided Europe: the East dominated by communist dictatorships and the West
under evolving democratic regimes. This truce was also associated with the
displacement of millions of people and attempts to destroy their traditions and
culture, in other words their soul. He then lists a variety of developments
arising from these arrangements: an arms race that diverted resources from the
satisfaction of human needs, scientific research enslaved to the demands of the
war machine, the militarization of less developed countries, and the rise of
extremist groups. The conflict of ideologies also infected other parts of the
world, especially areas that were being decolonized and lacked the
institutional framework to support democracies. While noting that communism has
spread throughout half of Europe and other parts of the world but efforts were being
made by many countries to contain it, the Pope warns against cures that are
worse than the evil they aim to fight. In particular, democracies that focus
solely on outdoing communism in the provision of material things are simply
replacing one evident form of dehumanization with a more subtle one. Part III (sections
22-29) is dedicated to the events in Eastern Europe that started in 1989. The
Pope begins by pointing out the fall of dictatorial regimes in Latin America,
Africa, and Asia and stressing the role of the Church through its unwavering support
for human rights. He lists as a major cause of these political changes,
particularly the demise of the Soviet bloc, the disregard of the rights of
workers. The impetus for change originated in the workers’ movement in Poland
and its most notable characteristic was the peaceful nature of the protests
which eschewed confrontation and sought dialogue. Acknowledging his role in
this peaceful revolution, the Pope stresses how this was an example of the way
national and international conflicts can be resolved through mutual respect,
understanding, and the willingness to compromise. Another important factor was
the economic inefficiencies of the communist system arising from the
suppression of private property rights, economic freedom, and personal initiative.
According to the Pope, the crucial factor was forced atheism which deprived
individuals, especially young people, of their identity and purpose in life. In
reaction, the population, searching for its national and religious roots to anchor
their lives, turned to God with more fervent faith. For the Pope, this is an
example that no society can survive for long if it ignores the power of freedom
and faith. The persistence of the social order creates balance in the interests
of individuals and society, harmony in human relationships, and an objective
moral compass to guide everyone. The Pope concludes this part of his encyclical
by dwelling on the worldwide consequences of the fall of the Soviet bloc and
the need for institutions of cooperation, nationally and internationally,
capable of sustaining a transition to forms of government that promote
individual freedom, mutual respect, and the willingness to cooperate.
Part IV (sections 30-43) addresses economic issues. John Paul II begins
by reaffirming the Church’s emphasis on the right to private property as an
extension of personal freedom, subject to the principle of the universal
destination of goods, expressed forcibly by Pope Leo XIII, his successors, and
the Second Vatican Council. The primary source of material goods is the earth,
gifted to humanity by God for the sustenance of all people. To access the fruit
of the earth requires human effort (work). Even hunter-gatherers needed to
spend a considerable amount of time to secure their survival. Initially most of
the production of goods came directly from the fruitfulness of the land, with
human work as a secondary factor. Over the centuries the relative contribution
of human work increased and so did its complexity. Thus, through work the lives
of humans became more interconnected: “work with others and work for
others.” To human work was added the
power of the complex network of interpersonal connections known as social
capital. Later, another form of private property became a prominent factor
of production, capital. Machinery and equipment, which originate from human
work and ingenuity, helped man become
more productive and gain a higher standard of material well-being. More
recently a new form of capital has come to the fore. Known as human capital,
it refers to scientific and technological know-how and more advanced technical
skills. The Pope views this economic evolution in a positive light as it is
associated with the advancement of man’s capabilities, stimulates cooperative
work, and promotes virtuous behavior through entrepreneurship, diligence,
reliability, and stronger interpersonal relationships in the workplace with
more cooperation of human with human instead of machine. Most importantly,
because human capital is inextricably embedded in human beings, its evolution
places man at the center of the economic system.
While potentially
fostering economic freedom and elevating the role of humans, according to the
Pope the new economy has also major shortcomings. The majority of people do not
have the capacity to acquire the skills necessary to develop their full potential
and often become marginalized. For many others, their economic conditions have
worsened since the publication of Rerum Novarum because of the lack of
material goods added to their inability to acquire the means necessary to
escape poverty. While these processes are more acute in the Third World, they
are gaining prominence even in the developed countries as the rapid
obsolescence of skills due to accelerated technological progress pushes to the
margin those who are unable to catch up.
At this point, John
Paul II makes what is probably the most controversial statement of his
encyclical: “,,,On the level of nations and international relations, the free
market is the most efficient instrument for utilizing resources.”1
Because this statement is theoretically and factually incorrect, I will discuss
it in more details at the end of this chapter. Here I will simply summarize the
Pope’s ideas. Despite the above statement about the free market, the Pope
envisions a more complex economic system. On one side he places “solvent” and
“marketable” resources for which there are market demand and supply. The
efficiency of the free market applies only to this part of the economy. On the
other side there are the fundamental human needs that cannot be satisfied
through market transactions. Primary among them are the capacity for survival
and the ability to contribute to the common good, which include the acquisition
of suitable skills and the opportunity to participate in market activities.
These needs must be fulfilled outside the market economy and their satisfaction
is required by justice and the inherent dignity of man. Thus, according to the
Pope, part of the economy is guided by the invisible hand of the market and
part by the visible scale of justice. For the Pope, the
solution to the conflict between the concentration of capital and the personal
nature of work is not socialism, which replaces private capitalism with State
capitalism, but “a society of free work, of enterprise and of participation.”2
In this alternative economic system, a major role is assigned to labor unions
which act as defenders of the rights of workers. Together with the right to own
private property, the Church recognizes the legitimacy of profit as an
indicator of the health of business, but it rejects the profit motive as the
sole determinant of economic activity. While business needs to make a profit to
survive and prosper, its fundamental purpose is to satisfy basic human needs,
help build communities, and serve the overall needs of society. This means that
business decisions ought to be guided by both economic and moral
considerations, not separately or in some form of ranking, but jointly.
John Paul II then
turns to some specific issues within developed countries. The first issue is
consumerism. For most of human history, the purpose of production was to
satisfy basic human needs. Now we have reached the point where consumer demand
is largely composed of artificially-created needs (what we want not what we
need) which reflects an attitude of consumption for the sake of consumption and
the priority of material over spiritual things that is very damaging to full
human development. As an example of consumerism, the Pope lists drug use and
pornography. The Pope also warns that consumerism creates ecological problems
because it leads to an “excessive and disordered” use of resources.
Disregarding God’s plan for the gift of the earth unleashes the wrath of the
wounded nature. To the degradation of the natural environment the Pope adds the
destruction of the human ecology, which refers to the moral structure that has
been gifted to man. “Structures of sin” prevent the full realization of human
beings. These need to be replaced by positive structures within virtuous
communities. The most important structure of human ecology is the family, which
refers to the union of a man and a woman in marriage and represents a
“sanctuary of life” which gives, nurtures, and protects life. The culture of
life is under attack by a variety of sources, the most significant of which is
abortion. Ignoring the interaction between the economic and social-cultural
systems, the Pope assigns to the latter the responsibility for these moral
failures.
John Paul II acknowledges some failures of the market system. As an
example, he points to the inability of the free market to protect the “common
goods”, particularly the natural and human environments. This protective duty
requires State intervention. Thus, modern capitalism generates the need for a
wider role of the State that goes beyond the protection of private property and
workers’ rights under the primitive capitalism referred to in Rerum Novarum.
The Pope also recognizes the
existence of “collective goods” that cannot be provided by the
market because they are not like any other commodity and cannot be purchased or
sold. The Pope turns to the issue of human alienation which he defines as “the
loss of authentic meaning of life,” pointing out that it is found in Marxist
and capitalist regimes. With respect to the former, the Pope argues that the
loss of personal freedom and initiative aggravates the very alienation that it
intends to alleviate. In the case of capitalism, he identifies three main
elements that exacerbate alienation. The first is consumerism which destroys
the spiritual nature of man. The second is a working environment where the
focus on profit transforms man from the subject of the economy to a component
of the means of production. The third is the rise of mass communications which
manipulate human desires and enslave man in a web of falsehoods. At this point,
John Paul II asks whether the demise of Marxism means that the only alternative
is capitalism. His answer is positive only in the case when the free market is
associated with “a strong judicial framework” dedicated to a form of freedom
that rests on ethical and religious foundations. The Pope also warns about
“radical capitalist ideology” that ignores the forces of marginalization and
exploitation within and among countries.
The Pope ends this
section by stressing that the Church offers orientations, not a specific policy
plan which would have to be adapted to specific historical conditions and
socio-economic situations. For the Pope, the two foundations of Catholic social
teaching are the right to private property and the rights of workers to the
full development of the person through work. In the Church’s view, however, the
ownership of private property carries with it social responsibilities because
material resources serve both man and society, and work serves purposes other
than providing for personal and family needs. It is also directed at the
well-being of the community and promotes solidarity which is essential for
strengthening the social fabric of society. The ownership and use of private
property that interferes with the work of others, reduces job opportunities for
the sake of higher profits, exploits workers, and weakens the bonds of
solidarity, is illegitimate and cannot be sustained on ethical grounds.
In Part V (sections 44-52) John Paul II elaborates on the role of the State.
He starts by pointing out how totalitarianism is opposed to the rule of law
proposed by Leo XIII in Rerum
Novarum. In such regimes the power is concentrated in the hands of a few
who, by virtue of belonging to a particular class or by the arrogance of
proclaiming intellectual superiority, usurp the rights of the people in the
pursuit of their own interests. At the same time, they reject objective truth
and replace it with self-serving falsehoods. In so doing, they deny the
inherent dignity of human beings and the inviolable rights bestowed upon them
by God. Because totalitarianism
rejects objective criteria of good and evil, it cannot accept the presence of
the Church which, as God’s representative on earth, is bound to proclaim the
transcendent truth and to uphold the rights of all persons and voluntary
associations and organizations that under totalitarianism are aggregated into
an anonymous whole. The Church supports only democratic systems that ensure
broad public representation, promote the peaceful transition of power, protect
the rule of law, recognize the dignity of human beings, and adhere to a clear
set of values. According to the Pope, in the absence of a proper moral compass
a democratic system is “thinly disguised authoritarianism.”3 The
Church also opposes fanaticism and fundamentalism. The Pope points out that,
following the fall of communism, a number of countries began to build
democratic institutions. He emphasizes the importance of the protection of human
rights, particularly the rights of the unborn, the rights of a child to grow in
a wholesome family and to develop his/her own capacity to make moral choices,
the right to work, and the right to choose one’s religious affiliation.
According to the Pope, neither totalitarian regimes nor democracies are
respecting these rights.
John Paul II then
offers a brief commentary on the role of the State in the economy. Stressing
that the market does not operate in an institutional vacuum, the Pope argues
that the primary duty of the State is to defend personal freedom and property
rights, maintain a stable currency, and offer efficient public services. The
State has also the responsibility to promote business activity and maintain a
macro-economic stance that generates high levels of employment. Finally, it
must prevent the establishment of monopolies that impede economic development,
and must intervene, only on a temporary basis, in cases of economic weakness
that affect negatively the common good, as it would happen for example when the
economy falls into a recession.
The Pope addresses
directly the expansion of the State in the social sphere through a variety of
support programs that the Pope calls “the Social Assistance State.” Instead of
analyzing in detail the root causes of this expansion in democratic regimes, the
Pope simply urges that the principle of subsidiarity be respected. Pointing out
that the Church has always helped the poor, John Paul II pleads for a renewed
commitment to “solidarity and charity,” suggesting that the Social Assistance
State can be replaced by strengthening the voluntary institutions of
solidarity, beginning with the family. Instead of delivering directly economic
support to the needy, the State ought to support these institutions.
Emphasizing how the culture of a nation is created through generations
by man’s creativity, the Pope praises the Church’s contribution through
preaching the truth about man’s role
and destiny as proclaimed in the Sacred Scriptures and his responsibilities to
his neighbor and all humanity. He concludes with a plea for world peace and
balanced development among nations and for a change in lifestyle in the richest
nations so that environmental and human resources are not wasted but are shared
with the less fortunate.
In the last part of
his encyclical, John Paul II explains that the main responsibility of the
Church has been the care of man, unique among His creatures, willed by God to
partake in His plan. In turn, man participates in God’s plan through work, as a
member of a family, and as a contributor to the common good. Because man is the
center of society, he is the subject of the Church’s social doctrine. The
Church follows its social doctrine through evangelization and through concrete
actions which are directed at the common good and serve as an example to other
institutions. For the Church, the main operative principle is love for the
other, particularly for the poor, which is expressed in practice through the
pursuit of justice. For the Church, justice is not served by making small
adjustments to institutions and policies or in giving away what we do not need.
It involves a change in attitude and lifestyle, a view of the needy not as
subjects of pity but as brothers and sisters deserving our love and respect, an
approach to charity not as a burden and sacrifice for which we expect a reward,
but as a privilege. Finally, there has to be renewed awareness that human
beings have spiritual as well as material needs, that the fulfillment of these
needs requires both moral and physical nourishment, and that peace and lasting
social order can be achieved only through mutual respect and cooperation.
In Rerum Novarum,
Leo XIII addressed a new economic and social reality that included the
injurious effects of industrialization on poverty and workers’ rights and the
rise of socialist ideologies aimed at opposing the rise of capitalism.
Concerned about the potential expansion of political regimes inimical to the
Church, the Pope offered a scathing criticism of collectivism. Pius XI saw
first-hand the disastrous economic and social effects of unbridled capitalism.
While reiterating Leo XIII’s attack on socialism, in Quadragesimo Anno,
he reserved the strongest criticism for capitalism. John Paul II was a witness
and a participant in a major political revolution in Europe, the fall of the
Soviet Empire, which offered the opportunity for regime change in many
countries. The two main options remained some form of collectivism and some
variation of capitalism. He did offer some criticism of Marxist regimes and
capitalism in Centesimus Annus, though more muted than that of Leo XIII
and Pius XI, but showed a clear predilection for political regimes based on
market economies.
John Paul II
separated the economy into two parts: the market economy where are produced
goods for which there is a supply and an individual demand and are exchanged in
the market for a price, and the non-market economy which includes goods that
are not divisible and cannot be sold to individual consumers. Examples of the
latter are the provision of clean air, national defense, protection of persons
and property, street lighting and the like. With respect to the market economy,
the Pope made statements that misrepresent the structure and dynamics of the
free market. The Pope’s statement that the free market is the best allocator of
resources is incorrect on both theoretical and factual grounds. The most
efficient allocation of resources occurs under a market structure that
economists call perfect competition. The conditions for this type of
market are quite restrictive. First, there must be a large number of consumers
and producers supplying goods that are perfect substitutes. This prevents any
consumer or producer from having power over prices. Second, it is essential
that both consumer and producer have equal and complete information on the
products being sold. Third, all firms face the same factor prices and over the
long-term there must be full mobility of all factors of production. Fourth,
barriers to entry must be absent in order to prevent the acquisition of market
power. Fifth, there must be no economies
of scale, which would create fertile ground for natural monopolies. Finally,
neither production nor consumption create externalities, which means the
production or consumption of a certain good does not affect the welfare of
others.
By the time Centesimus Annus was issued, none of these conditions
were satisfied in democratic regimes. Let us consider as examples some relevant
indicators for the United States. According to a recent study,4 in
1970 the top 1 percent of US firms owned 70 percent of assets. This percentage
rose to 90 percent in 1991. At the same time, the concentration of employment
changed very little as employment in the top 1 percent of firms rose from 55
percent in 1970 to only 60 percent in the 2010s which means that as they get
larger firms become less labor intensive. Moreover, as technology advances and
firms get bigger, the barriers to entry become stronger. The intensifying
pattern of environmental degradation also manifests the increasing effect of
negative externalities in production and consumption. The Pope did not even need the scholarly
research on the increase in corporate concentration. He could directly observe
the low number of corporations that controlled most of the economic activity in
mining, energy, banking, and large parts of manufacturing. Under these
conditions, it is not possible for a free market to operate efficiently and
market economies cannot be automatically declared to be the most efficient for
resource allocation. The Pope must have also been aware that one of the pillars
of his economic plan, labor unions, was in steady decline. As shown by recent
research,5 in the United States union density (the ratio of union membership to total
employment) rose from 12 percent in 1936 to 34 percent in the 1940s, but fell
below 10 percent in 2022. Union membership is also much lower in the private
sector and has fallen at a faster rate. In 1984, at 14.7 percent, union density
in the private sector was less than half that in the public sector. In 2022 the
union density in the private sector (5.7%) was less than 20 percent that of the
public sector.
A perfectly
competitive market, even if it could ever exist, is a highly unstable
institution because it contains the seeds of its own destruction. Rational
entrepreneurs exploit every opportunity that market imperfections offer to gain
market power and profit-seeking has no limit. As firms expand in size, so does
the amount of capital and its concentration. Thus, as capitalism progresses,
the free market retreats. Capitalism works like a bulldozer, clearing away any
obstacle it finds in its way. Theoretically, in a democratic regime, the power
of capitalism would be curbed by government through anti-trust legislation.
However, if government becomes a roadblock eventually it will also become an
obstacle to be pushed aside. In democracies, the political system is supposed
to operate as the counterpart of the free market where the monetary unit is
replaced by the vote. To work efficiently, the political system also requires a
set of strict conditions, principal among which are the absence of barriers to
vote, the lack of power by any individual or enterprise, and the broad
availability of unbiased information. All these conditions, can be and
historically have been, manipulated by capitalists primarily through the
ownership of the media and the selective use of political campaign
contributions. As a result, the State, which is supposed to keep in check the
power of capitalists, becomes a partner that is eventually cannibalized and a
country is transformed into the equivalent of a national corporation, and
government policy, domestic and international, is directed entirely at the
maximization of the welfare of the capitalists.
The Pope must have been aware of these dynamics because some of the
injurious effects of capitalism were already evident at the time of the issue
of Centesimus Annus. We have already noted the rise of corporate
concentration and the demise of labor unions. Associated with them was a
declining share of income going to labor, expanding inequality of income and
wealth, and rising poverty rates. In the
United States, from 1971 to 1991, the share of labor income declined from 65
percent to 62 percent, and the poverty rate rose from 10.8 percent to 12.3
percent. From 1971 to 2007, the share of income of those in the bottom half of
the income distribution declined from 16.2 percent to 15.4 percent while the
share of the top 10 percent increased from 30.7 percent to 44.3 percent, and
the share of wealth of the bottom 50 percent fell from 3.0 percent to 2.5
percent while the share of the top 10 percent rose from 70.7
percent to 71.5 percent. In 2007, the top 10 percent had nearly twice the
income of the bottom half and more than 20 times the wealth.
Despite John Paul’s
claim that the Church offers general directions rather than specific policies,
in Centesimus Annus we find a complete program for a conservative agenda
which includes the following components: moral support for a market economy
that, as shown above, was creating greater economic injustice; a small
government whose role is largely confined to the protection of persons and
property and the promotion of economic activity, and greater emphasis on
“cultural” issues such as drug use and abortion than on income inequality and
poverty. This reinterpretation of Rerum Novarum provided fodder for
intellectuals, especially in the United States, to recast the social teachings
of the Church in a more capitalist-friendly frame. The two most influential
members of this group are Michael Novak6 and Richard Neuhaus.7 Coupled with
the replacement of the social gospel with the prosperity gospel, this shift has
led to a Christianity driven by greed which finds its purpose in fighting
cultural wars rather than loving the neighbor and caring for the poor and
marginalized. In the process, Jesus has been transformed from a poor Galilean
into a tycoon.
Pope Francis:
Laudato Si’ Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos
Aires on the 17th of December 1936 from immigrant parents Mario and Regina
Sivori. He had four siblings. As a teenager he entered the seminary of Villa
Devoto and in March 1952 became a novitiate of the Society of Jesus. He studied
humanities in Chile and then returned to Argentina where he obtained a graduate
degree in Philosophy from Colegio de San Jose’ in San Miguel. He taught
literature and psychology in 1964 and 1965 at Immaculate Conception College in
Santa Fe’ and in 1966 at the Colegio del Salvatore in Buenos Aires. He returned
to university from 1967 to 1970 studying theology at the Colegio di Santa Fe’.
He was ordained a priest on the 13th of December 1969 and made his
final profession with the Jesuits on April 22nd, 1973. In San Miguel
(Argentina) he was professor of theology and Rector of the Colegio Maximo. On
the 20th of May 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed him titular Bishop
of Auca and auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires. Five years later he was appointed
coadjutor bishop of Buenos Aires and in February 1998 he became Archbishop of
the same city. On the 21st of February 2001 he was appointed
cardinal, at a time when he was also Grand Chancellor of the Catholic
University of Argentina, and on the 13th of March 2015 was elected
Pope. As Bishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis witnessed
widespread poverty and social degradation. He was also aware of the unfolding
major world events, particularly the fall of the Berlin Wall, the breakdown of
the Soviet Union, the advance of globalization, the widening disparities of
income and wealth within and among countries, and the expansion of
environmental degradation. Pope Francis issued four encyclicals: Lumen Fidei
(29 June 2013), Laudato Si’ (24 May 2013), Fratelli Tutti (30
October 2020), and Dilexit Nos (24 October 2024). For the purpose of
this book, I review only the second encyclical.
With this encyclical, which contains 245 paragraphs,
Pope Francis brings us back more than seven centuries to Saint Francis of
Assisi and connects us with the foundations of our faith in Genesis. In
the Introduction (paragraphs 1-16), the Pope points out that “our sister,
mother earth” - which provides us with the elements of our body, keeps us alive
with material and spiritual nourishment, the air we breathe, and the water we
drink �" is in distress because of our abuse and cries out for help. He refers
to the responses of a number of his predecessors who have expressed concern for
the onslaught on the environment: John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, and
Benedict XVI. The stronger statement is attributed to Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew who considers ecological degradation “a sin against ourselves and a
sin against God.”1 Still, compared to this lengthy encyclical, these
statements are little more than a footnote.
Turning to Saint Francis, the Pope stresses that the
relationship between the saint and nature was not that of a superior being
condescendingly caring for a lower order of creation, but one of equality and
kinship. For Saint Francis every part of nature was a brother or a sister to be
protected, not due to some legal obligation but out of love. This love was
extended to all humans, especially the poor. Saint Francis also showed us how a
life in tune with nature and neighbors is fulfilling through meekness and
simplicity. Speaking to all those who work to protect the temporal home that
God has gifted humanity, and appealing to those who endeavor for a sustainable
future, the Pope places this encyclical in the context of the Church’s social
teaching, thus uniting inseparably natural ecology with human ecology.
In chapter 1
(paragraphs 17-61) the Pope discusses the main issues related to the
environment. He starts by listing the various sources of pollution from
both the production of goods and their consumption. He concludes that the
fundamental sources of pollution are “a throwaway culture,” and our
unwillingness to implement a circular economy that reduces consumption,
minimizes the use of non-renewable resources, and optimizes efficiency in the
production and utilization of renewable resources. Turning to the climate,
the Pope emphasizes that this is a common good that belongs to everyone and was
created for the benefit of all. Therefore, maintaining its health is an
individual as well as a collective responsibility. He acknowledges the
consensus of the scientific community that human activity has caused the
climate change associated with global warming. This climatic condition has
far-reaching consequences for us and for our descendants and is responsible for
the melting of glaciers, the increase of sea temperatures and the associated
rise of the sea level, the frequency and intensity of atmospheric events, and
food production. Through other channels it also affects economic, social, and
political systems. According to the Pope, there is an urgent need to break the
vicious circle created by the interaction between human activity and climate
change by adjusting our lifestyles towards a more sustainable way and by
implementing policies directed at reducing greenhouse gases.
With respect to natural resources, the issue of
quality is as important as that of quantity. This is particularly true in the
case of fresh water. Climate change has affected the supply of fresh water
worldwide and its global distribution primarily through widespread droughts and
more severe floods. Because fresh water is the lifeline of food production, in
less developed countries that depend heavily on agriculture the shortage of
water is a major determinant of poverty. At the same time, pollution has rendered
part of the fresh water supply unusable for human consumption and has
transformed it into a vehicle for the spread of contagious diseases leading to
death. Stressing that “access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal
human right,”2 the Pope condemns all efforts at privatizing what is
effectively a common good.
Environmental degradation has also led to the decline
of biodiversity. This loss has, in turn, generated a series of negative
consequences for humanity. First, the loss of forests, woodlands, wetlands, and
some species of flora and fauna due to the plunder of an economic system driven
by the obsession with quick returns, is a loss of resources for current and
future generations. Second, the loss of biodiversity disrupts the delicate
ecological balance which is based on complex interactions among all components
of the natural world. Third, the natural world is not just a resource to be
exploited. It has intrinsic values because, like man, it was created by God and
each of its elements is a praise to God and helps us to get closer to the Lord.
As such, the natural world is the most valuable resource for a full human life.
According to the Pope, we do not have the right to degrade biodiversity. When
we do, we are usurping God’s throne, destroying what he so lovingly created.
That may be our greatest sin. The Pope explains how the pursuit of material gains at
the expense of spiritual growth is a primary cause of environmental degradation
and has degraded the quality of human life and the fabric of society. This
unchecked growth has created ever larger cities that have become centers of
pollution, wasteful living, congestion, and alienation from nature, from
others, and even from oneself. They have also aggravated social segmentation by
separating physically the safer areas where the well-to-do live from the nearly
inhabitable places where the poor remain marginalized. Even technological
change, which ought to enhance everyone’s quality of life, has contributed to
inequality, social breakdown, and “new forms of social aggression….and the loss
of identity,”3 The media have played a crucial role in social and
human degradation by replacing wisdom with superficiality and the search for
truth with sensationalism. They have also facilitated the shift from meaningful
interpersonal relationships based on human contact with virtual connections
where machine talks to machine.
Pope Francis emphasizes the inextricable connection
between the human and the natural environment. Under the current economic
systems, they both follow deteriorating paths because the lack of concern for
environment health is reflected in the
callous disregard for the plight of the poor as both the earth and human beings
are treated as resources to be exploited for the benefit of the few. Moreover,
environmental degradation affects more severely those who live at the margins
of survival and have no capacity to withstand the onslaught of climate change
on their means of basic sustenance. The concentration of wealth and power has
accelerated the physical separation between the rich and powerful and the poor
and powerless. This distance has numbed the feelings of empathy and charity to
the point where the conscience of the rich is appeased by the manufactured
rationale that the poor are totally responsible for their plight because of
their lack of ambition and sheer laziness. Moreover, the privileged position of
the elites is defended by an institutional framework of self-seeking
politicians and opinion influencers who manipulate the media by emphasizing the
wealth creating ability of the rich while minimizing the suffering of the poor
and the marginalized. Thus, a drop in a major stock index is highly publicized
while an increase in the poverty rate is hardly mentioned. For the Pope, the
ecological system is intertwined with the social order and their plight is not
just an economic and social issue. It is a question of morality and justice.
The earth does not wail alone, but is joined by the cry of the poor, and God
hears both.
Economic
inequalities, which are present also among countries, have important
consequences for environmental health as the inordinate use of natural
resources in the richest countries degrades the ecosystems of the poorer
countries through the exploitation of their raw materials. Poor countries
not only suffer from the depletion of their resources and the associated
environmental damage, but pay a high price for the effects of the conspicuous
consumption in the affluent countries. Hit by a double economic and
environmental whammy, these countries lose their freedom and their capacity to
sustain stable human development and to pursue desirable environmental goals.
Thus, environmental degradation is associated with the suppression of human
rights.
While the earth pleads, weeping for a change in
direction towards the fulfillment of God’s “plan for peace, beauty and
fullness,”4 the international community has remained deaf to its
wailing. There are indeed many uncoordinated examples of activities aimed at
restoring ecological health, such as bringing polluted rivers to life and
restoring woodlands and wetlands. Also, technological change has led to
improvements in the production and use of energy and the development of less
polluting sources of energy. At the same time, one notices “the rise of a false
or superficial ecology which bolsters complacency and a cheerful recklessness.”5 Moreover, the political response at the
international level has been quite weak because political and economic leaders
continue to support an economic system based on the pursuit of financial gains
at the expense of “human dignity and the natural environment.”6 The
Pope is not optimistic about improvements in public policy within the context
of the current economic system. In his view, “the most one can expect is
superficial rhetoric, sporadic acts of philanthropy, and perfunctory
expressions of concern for the environment.”7
The Pope acknowledges that there are various points of
view on the issues of environmental
degradation and policy. At one extreme we find those who believe that either
there is nothing wrong with the environment or that all problems related to
it will be solved by technological
progress. At the other extreme stand those who believe that, since all
environmental effects are created by humans, the most effective solution is a
reduction in the world population. The Church supports a dialogue based on
scientific evidence and openness to different points of view, but recognizes
the need for urgent action because environmental degradation has reached a
breaking point. The Pope suggests that common solutions to environmental issues
require a dialogue that takes into consideration not only economic and
environmental calculations but takes into account the diversity of cultures,
values, and traditions. This means that the conversations must include all
sources of knowledge and wisdom, including religion. The Catholic Church is
open to such dialogue based on the principles of its social teachings. The Pope turns to the biblical accounts of creation by
emphasizing that in Genesis man was conceived in thought by God and created in
his image by the power of love. Thus, man is part of God’s plan for creation
from the very beginning and has inherent dignity and a purposeful life. In
God’s plan man engages in three interrelated relationships: with God, with
nature, and with neighbor. In the beginning these relationships were
intertwined in perfect harmony. Later they began to break down as the connection
among men and between man and nature turned into conflicts primarily through
greed and the lack of charity. The breakdown in these relationships is the
origin of sin.
Pope Francis reminds us that earth was created before
man. Moreover, humans cannot survive without nature, but nature will still be
thriving long after the human race has become extinct. Even the lowly ant will
survive the arrogant human. The Pope stresses that the interpretation of the
biblical reference of “dominion” over the earth as license to exploit and
plunder at will is inconsistent with the view of the Church. He refers to
Genesis 2 which states that “the Lord took man to the garden of Eden to work it
and to take care of it.” This means that man is required to do what is
necessary to keep the land productive for present and future generations and to
protect it so that it remains “good” as God saw it when He created it.
Referring to Deuteronomy 10:14, the Pope also emphasizes that the ultimate
ownership of the land rests with God. Therefore, when we treat the land as our
own property and exploit it instead caring for it we usurp God’s rights. The
respect and care for the land must be extended to all creatures because they
too were part of the goodness of God’s creation and as such have inherent
dignity and rights. God’s command to respect all animals is expressively found
in the Bible.8 According to the Pope, there is no biblical
foundation to “tyrannical anthropocentrism.”9
The Pope refers to
the story of Cain and Abel to teach us that “genuine care for our lives and our
relationship with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and
faithfulness to others.”10 When we fail to take care of nature and
of our neighbor, our lives are impoverished, are souls are wounded, our
relationship with God is imperiled, and our chances of entering the kingdom of
God are minimized. The Bible also tells us that when God gave humanity another
chance on account of Noah’s faithfulness, the new beginning involved a series
of special rhythms: observance of the sabbath to give rest to man and beast
every seven days, rest for the land (no sowing) every seven years, and a
jubilee every 49 years (seven times seven) for the forgiveness of debts. These
rhythms served the purpose of balancing human life, maintaining the health of
the land, promoting charity and justice, and strengthening human relationships.
Together with the practice of gleaning, these rhythms were also a reminder that the land belongs to
God and its fruits belong to everyone.
When we claim unchecked power over nature, we not only usurp God’s
rights but we effectively become godless. Without God the creator at the center
of our lives, we have no moral compass and we drift in a world of conflicts,
violence, and injustice.
The Pope teaches us that the universe did not
originate by chance or by an arbitrary act of omnipotence. Creation was a
willful act of love. It is the creative power of love that drives all things.
This love is shared equally by the most ephemeral flower and by the largest
mammal. Man partakes in God’s image to the extent that he spreads abundant love
not when he imposes his power on others, when he cares for creation not when he
lords over it. Man is unique in nature with respect to his intellectual capacity
which can be used constructively to build a world where peace and justice reign
and love abounds or negatively to foster conflict and injustice. We have the
power of self-annihilation and the Church has the duty to “protect mankind from
self-destruction.”11 Catholic social teaching stresses that the
human being is the subject of all human activity and can never be reduced to an
object. By the commonality in the act of creation, neither flora nor the
animals on land, in the air, and in the sea can be treated as objects. They
share with us a common destiny, a union with the creator. As the most
intelligent of all beings, man has the obligation “to lead all creatures back
to their creator.”12
Pope Francis explains that, while man is unique in the
sense that he is the only being created in the image of God, each creature in
the universe originates from God and has a specific purpose within God’s plan.
The natural environment reminds us of the creative power of God’s love which in
turn is reflected in its beauty and harmonious relationships. As it absorbs the
warmth of God’s love, nature releases it in the form of praises for the
creator. Therefore, God communicates with man through two main channels: the
written form in the sacred scriptures inspired by God, and the natural world
where God’s love for all creatures is expressed each minute of each day. When
we contemplate nature we get a glimpse of God, and when we connect with nature,
we gain a better understanding of our role in God’s plan. Our relationship with
nature is not just a utilitarian one or even one of friendship. It is a
partaking of the sacred.
While acknowledging
the unique qualities and position of man, the Pope emphasizes that all creation
is “a kind of universal family, a sublime community which fills us with a
sacred, affectionate and humble respect.”13 Our unique status also bestows upon us
special responsibilities that must be performed with humility. As we are all
called by God to treat the natural environment with respect, protecting its fragility, so we are required to care
with love for our fellow human beings who live in precarious conditions. We
cannot tolerate with indifference extreme economic inequality, deadly poverty,
and human degradation and claim to be children of God. Those who are in
privileged positions, by birth or by merit, cannot view themselves as superiors
to other humans, but their position entails greater responsibilities for those
who are less fortunate. According to the Pope, our treatment of nature and of
our fellow men are closely tied because it reflects the movement of our heart.
If we are comfortable abusing our brothers oceans and rivers and our mother
earth, we will feel no guilt in mistreating our human brothers and sisters. To
the extent that we treat with cruelty any creature on earth we show a heart
devoid of love and compassion and we separate ourselves from God.
Pope Francis reaffirms the fundamental principle of
the universal destination of goods in Catholic social teaching stating that
“the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to
benefit everyone.14 Because the rich and the poor have equal dignity
as children of God, they have equal rights to private property. Referring to
the campesinos, the Pope interprets these rights broadly to include in addition
to land ownership “education, credit, insurance, and markets,”15
necessary instruments for a secure life. He also stresses that the entire
natural environment is a collective good, a common patrimony of all mankind
which exists for the benefit of all and whose care is the responsibility of
all. When our appropriation of property rights for selfless gain deprives
others of their livelihood, we not only behave in a morally reprehensible
manner but we transgress against the sixth commandment (you shall not
kill).
In chapter III
(sections 101-136), Pope Francis analyzes the impact of human activity,
starting with technology. Referring to two centuries of technological progress,
the Pope acknowledges that science and technology are expressions of human
creativity originating from God. He also recognizes that technological advances
have the potential to improve the quality of life for all mankind. Still,
developments such as nuclear power, biotechnology, and information technology
have given man great powers, but this power is being increasingly concentrated
in the hands of a few. There is no guarantee that this power will always be
used for the good of all, especially in a world that lacks both the
institutions to control this power and the required ethical framework. The Pope
also identifies various dangers associated with technology. In the less
developed economies of yesteryear, man had a harmonious relationship with
nature. Knowing that natural resources are limited, man established economic
and social structures based on a value system that promoted ecological balance
and sustainability. With the advance of technology, the relationship between
man and nature became confrontational, with the latter treated as an object to be exploited. At
the same time emerged a new paradigm based on the idea that technology can
smash through the walls of scarcity and lead to unbounded prosperity. This new
paradigm has reshaped economic structures, political institutions, social
norms, and the human value system. Because of the lack of control and the
concentration of power, technology has morphed from servant of man to master of
mankind. At the policy level, the concentration of power has been associated with
the fragmentation of knowledge and policy applications where special policy
initiatives are formulated without reference to the whole, in the absence of an
objective ethical framework and without a connection between past, present, and
future.
Paradoxically, the dominance of the technological
paradigm has created a new breed of humans who do not believe in the promise of
a happier future largely because they measure happiness in terms of material
possessions and because the concentration of income and wealth has left behind
an increasing share of the population. The Pope suggests that the solution to
the environmental crisis requires “a bold cultural revolution.”16
Only in the context of this revolution can science and technology become
effective policy tools. The Pope reminds us that the modern world rests on a
foundation of excessive anthropocentrism which is associated with a faulty
understanding of Christian anthropology that, by viewing man as the dominator
of nature, distorts the relationship between man and nature envisioned in God’s
plan for creation. It also distorts the relationship among humans. How can we
hear the wailing of nature wounded by human activity when we are deaf to the
cry and pleading of the poor, the unborn, the disabled, the marginalized? Our
neglect of nature is reflected in our disregard for the needs of our neighbors,
and humanity bleeds while nature grieves. We cannot succeed in healing the
wounds we have inflicted on nature unless we restore the value of all human beings
as children of God, heal human relationships, and address “the ethical,
cultural and spiritual crisis of modernity.”17
Misplaced
anthropocentrism has led to a misguided lifestyle that the Pope calls practical
relativism, a way of life in which nothing and nobody has value except when
they serve selfish personal interests. In this lifestyle, my neighbor is not a
person but an object with the potential to be manipulated for personal gain,
children are objects to be exploited for work and even for sex, women can be
abused and degraded without remorse, the elderly and the needy can be neglected and abandoned as useless and a burden to
society, and the insane drive to satisfy unlimited material desires creates
sinful waste in a world where millions are starving. According to Pope Francis,
only within an integrated ecology, where human and natural ecology are equal
partners, can men gain their full value as God’s children and can express their creativity
through work. Emphasizing that” we were created with a vocation to work,”18
Pope Francis explains that work is not just a physical or intellectual activity
undertaken for the sole purpose of earning a living. Referring to Saint
Benedict of Norcia, the Pope points out that work is part of a balanced
existence complementing prayer, spiritual readings, and contemplation. As such,
work acquires spiritual properties as it partakes in man’s journey back to his
creator. Moreover, this journey is not taken in isolation but in the company of
a community. Thus, work strengthens community ties and magnifies human capital
as it promotes personal growth. This means that the primary objective of
economic policy must not be aimless economic growth, but the maintenance of
high levels of employment, regardless of the state of technological
development. The Pope acknowledges the state’s obligation to supply financial
assistance to those in need, but only on a provisional basis. The ultimate goal
must always be to help people earn a living wage through work.
In chapter 4 (paragraphs 137-162) Pope Francis presents
a framework for an integral ecology. He starts by affirming that everyone and
everything in the universe is interconnected in time and space. So should be
our approach to the understanding of the world. Fragmenting knowledge in the
name of specialization represents a new form of ignorance. Because the term
environment refers to the relationship between nature and society and because
man is part of nature, to understand environmental phenomena we must study
human behavior within existing economic structures and societal organizations.
Everything that God created was good and harmoniously related. Pollution and
environmental degradation do not occur spontaneously like dandelions in Spring
but are generated by human activity in the process of economic growth. The
relationships between humans and the environment are not separate from the
relationships among men. They are part of the same process of evolution and
should be approached in a holistic manner.
We are interconnected
through time because we are the fruits of the past and the seeds of the future.
Similarly, we are interconnected through space by virtue of our evolving
institutions, forming what the Pope calls a social ecology. He suggests that the
approach to policy must also be comprehensive, not partitioned, as the
protection of nature requires the elimination of poverty and the restoration of
human dignity. The Pope calls for a new humanism through which, in the process
of economic growth, the analysis of environmental issues is carried in the
context of the human experience because how we treat the environment depends
largely on how we deal with each other. Our relationship with nature depends
also on the health conditions of human institutions, starting from the family
and including formal and informal civic organizations. When these
institutions are weakened �" resulting in injustice, insecurity, and loss of
freedom �" the consequences reverberate throughout all creation, degrading both
man and nature.
Because we are the fruit of the past, our mind and
body incorporate millennia of linguistic and cultural development which gives
different societies unique identities and creates what the Pope calls a
cultural ecology. A process of economic growth that leads to the exploitation
and degradation of natural resources, especially in less developed countries,
often involves the erosion of both social and unique cultural ecologies leading
to decline in the cultural heritage of humanity. As species disappear under the
relentless advance of bulldozers, so vanish long-held traditions and value
systems in the name of progress. In order for economic growth and environmental
policies to be sustainable over the long-term it is essential that the cultural
uniqueness of different peoples be respected and nurtured.
Referring to Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis
recognizes an “ecology of man” which arises from man’s unique status as child
of God endowed with an inborn link to moral law. Man has physical, emotional,
intellectual, and spiritual needs. In order for man to fulfill his role in
God’s plan and lead a contented life four needs must be satisfied in a stable
balance. Achieving this balance requires harmonious relationships between the
natural and the human ecology �" social, cultural, and the ecology of man. These
relationships, in turn, need special economic and social structures and a
suitable institutional framework.
The conditions of the space in which man operates
affects human behavior and a person’s capacity to improve his quality of life.
A disorderly place where cruel violence, deafening noise, stench, and ugliness
reign is hardly the setting where mind and soul can find peace. Yet, in such
hellish environments occasionally the poor are able to build communities of
solidarity where the light of love overpowers the ugliness of the surroundings.
We should follow these exceptional examples and turn our indolence into loving
action to eradicate poverty, build livable cities with green spaces and
inspiring architecture, which offer ample opportunities for developing
communities of solidarity.
Pope Francis stresses
that the ecology of man ultimately rests on the relationship between human life
and the moral law that is embedded in our nature. Thus, the connection between
human and natural ecology becomes a moral issue, a matter of faith and values.
If we obey the commandments to love God, his creation, and our neighbors, God’s
love that fills our hearts will empower us to willingly care for nature and for
our fellowmen, to promote solidarity, and to seek Christ in each person we meet. When our heart is filled with hatred,
we disdain nature and our neighbors, we forfeit our humanity, and become the
most despicable of beings.
The Pope completes this chapter by reminding us that
our action should always be directed at the common good and should respect
intergenerational justice as a reflection of the principle of the universal
destination of goods. He reminds us that all natural resources belong to God
who gifted them to us in use to take for ourselves and others, within current
and future generations. In gratitude for God’s gift and in solidarity with
other human beings, born and unborn, we are obligated to transfer to other generations
an untarnished gift.
In chapter five (sections 163-201) Pope Francis shifts
from theory to practice by offering a variety of suggestions for cooperation
and coordination of policies at the national and international level. He starts
by pointing out that the pervasive interdependence of nations and peoples
requires new international institutions. Because the effects of one country’s
collective behavior transcend national borders, the common good now extends
from the family to the entire globe. The Pope acknowledges the beneficial
effects of worldwide ecological movements, many emanating from non-governmental
civic institutions. He refers in particular to the 1972 Stockholm’s
Declaration, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the Basel Convention on
hazardous waste, the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer,
and the United Nations Convention on sustainable development (Rio de Janeiro
2012). The Pope, however, reminds us that environmental progress designed by
advanced economies often have catastrophic consequences for the people of less
developed nations who are impoverished and at times dislocated. The Pope urges
policymakers to focus first on combating poverty and promoting social
development in poorer countries when formulating environmental policies. Healing
the natural ecology at the expense of the human ecology is neither just nor
sustainable.
Environmental
policies may also create winners and losers within countries. Therefore, it is
necessary to coordinate economic and environmental programs at the national and
local level. In this respect, a crucial role is played by local
non-governmental associations and organizations. Not only can they organize
environmental activities locally and promote civic values, but they can muster
political power to pressure policymakers. Moreover, these organizations can
offer long-term solutions because they are not subjected to the short-term
political cycle. To be credible and effective, environmental policies must be
transparent at each stage of development and implementation. This requirement
is particularly important in the case of the environmental impact assessment of
proposed projects. The Pope stresses that environmental protection is not
just an issue of financial costs and benefits because the environment is not an
ordinary good subject to the laws of the market. It is a system of life with
its own forces and unique rhythms. He also argues that the market cannot deal
effectively with the complexities of the environment and takes a position
against “an efficiency-driven paradigm of technocracy.”19 The Pope
also stresses that the political institutions should not be subjected to the
economic system, but both should cooperate for the purpose of improving the
quality of life of all people.
Pope Francis argues that an economic system based on
the pursuit of “insatiable and irresponsible growth”20 does not
guarantee true progress because it generates widening income and wealth
inequalities and fails to improve the quality of life for all members of
society. Moreover, it promotes an unbalanced way of life as it focuses
exclusively on the satisfaction of material desires and ignores man’s
intellectual and spiritual needs. The Pope suggests a shift from economic
growth based on rising production and consumption of material goods with
sustainable progress which includes a healthier natural and human ecology, less
poverty, stronger social ties, and a better quality of life for everyone. He
suggests that this shift may be associated with lower output growth but
stronger institutions of solidarity and a more balanced lifestyle. For this
shift to be successful, it is necessary that fractured political systems be
integrated into new structures that extend the timeframe of their vision and
apply a more holistic approach to policymaking. The Pope also argues that
science can lead to progress in the absence of a moral compass, but man without
it is lost. Preventing and solving societal crises requires the collaboration
of science and faith and the respectful communication between the scientific
community and the religious institutions.
In the last chapter
(sections 202-245) the Pope addresses the issue of personal lifestyle. Pope
Francis argues that the current economic paradigm thrives on the manipulation
of human values, promoting and feeding a lifestyle based on the addiction to
insatiable human desires and the association of happiness with spending power
and material possessions. This unbalanced lifestyle creates a void in the human
heart that people seek to fill with the only things they value: inordinate
consumption and the acquisition of wealth. This attempt fails and the void
expands as the fleeting nature of material consumption creates new desires.
According to the Pope, this economic system and the pattern of life that
sustains it lead to “too many means and only a few insubstantial ends.”21
A society composed of self-absorbed individuals addicted to destructive
consumerism and devoid of a moral compass cannot be expected to display a
positive inclination towards the common good and the health of the natural
environment. The solution proposed by the Pope requires a radical change in human values and
a reformed lifestyle that rejects individualism and shows awareness of the
effects of one’s actions on others and on nature. The Pope also suggests that
we need a new “covenant between humanity and the environment”22
which is based on a coordinated approach to environmental education involving
families, schools, the Church, the media, political institutions, and civic
organizations. This education program should be followed by practical solutions
and a new start towards a more balanced way of life.
Pope Francis offers some ideas for an ecological
spirituality based on the Catholic faith and Christian spiritual principles.
For the Pope, the ecological crisis is a manifestation of a spiritual crisis
and its solution requires a deep conversion that raises our awareness that protecting God’s
creation is an essential element of a virtuous life. However, personal
conversion leading to kinship between man and nature in isolation cannot
address the complexities of the imbalances in the natural and human ecologies.
This spiritual conversion must create a different understanding of human
existence away from our obsession with the quantity of goods and towards a
greater appreciation of the quality of life based on “moderation and the
capacity to be happy with little” and to live with “sobriety and humility.”23
In this new life, happiness is not achieved by the hopeless pursuit of material
wealth but on loving human relationships, the practice of service to others,
the development of our innate capabilities, particularly art and music, kinship
with nature, and prayer. This conversion offers a balanced way of life and
peace in our hearts which is radiated to anyone we meet. At the foundation of
this new life is a spirit of gratitude to God for the precious gift of life,
the healing power of interpersonal relationships, and even the most fleeting
moments of joy. This gratitude is the source of true humility.
This new lifestyle is based on love and solidarity. It
acknowledges that, as children of God, we are all brothers and sisters bound by
God’s infinite love. It also recognizes that we are intimately connected with
nature because it is also part of God’s creation. Therefore, our fraternity
with others extends to all the natural world. Our kinship with all creation
impels us to care for each other and for nature, which nurtures us, and to give
the common good priority over our selfish desires. In action, we can express
our commitment to a “universal fraternity” through political action,
participation in civic organizations of solidarity, and a life of service to
the community. Following Saint Therese of Lisieux, we can also express our life
of love through simple daily gestures such as smiling to the passerby, saying a
kind word to the sad, being generous with praises, offering encouragement to
the downcast, and always treating with kindness friend and foe. Pope Francis concludes his encyclical by promoting
unity on earth as a reflection of the Trinity in Heaven. For the Pope, the
Father is the source of all creation, the Son is His reflection who, born of a
woman on earth, joins the divine to the human, and the Spirit is the “infinite
bond of love”24 that permeates the universe and guides and inspires.
The relationship between the three persons of the Trinity is so perfectly
harmonious that they are One. Life on earth is also a web of relationships: the
one with our self, that with others, and the one with nature. The divine force
behind these human relationships is our innate tendency to return to our
creator. When we follow the path laid out for us by God, nature and humankind
are made whole and one. Pope Francis reconnects us with Saint Francis of
Assisi and with the biblical roots of Catholic social teaching. He teaches us
that nature is not something separate from us and that its components are not
objects to abuse, but our brothers and sisters. Nature is part of us. When we
hurt it, we impoverish our own lives. The foundations of God’s plan is unity.
As there is unity in the Trinity so there is unity in creation and the natural
ecology and the human ecology are one. Without minimizing the importance of
institutional changes and policy initiatives, Pope Francis suggests that
long-term solutions to the crisis of the natural and human ecology require a
radical personal conversion to a new way of life that shuns materialism and
selfishness, embraces simplicity and humility, and seeks justice and the common
good. Notes to Rerum Novarum 1 Zinkina, Julia, Ilia V.
Ilyin, and Andrei Korotayev, The Nineteen-Century Urbanization Transition in
the First World, Social Studies. Https://sociostudies.org/almanac/article/the_nineteenth-century/ 2 Rerum Novarum, par. 3 3 Rerum Novarum, par. 4 4 Rerum Novarum,
par. 5 5 Rerum Novarum,
par. 6 6 Rerum Novarum,
par. 7 7 Rerum Novarum,
par. 8-13 8 Rerum Novarum,
par. 15 9 Rerum Novarum,
par. 14 10 Rerum Novarum,
par. 16 11 Rerum Novarum,
par. 21 12 Rerum Novarum,
par.26 13 Rerum Novarum,
par.29-30 14 Rerum Novarum,
par. 31-33 15 Rerum Novarum,
par. 34 16 Rerum Novarum,
par.34 17 Rerum Novarum,
par. 35 18 Rerum Novarum,
par. 36 19 Rerum Novarum,
par. 37 20 Rerum Novarum,
par. 38-39 21 Rerum Novarum,
par. 40-42 22 Rerum Novarum,
par. 43-45 23 Rerum Novarum,
par. 48-52 24 Rerum Novarum,
par. 53-56 25 Rerum Novarum,
par. 58 26 Rerum Novarum,
par. 59-62 Notes
to Quadragesimo Anno 1 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 50-51 2 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 54 3 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 56
5 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 52-58 6 Quadragesimo Anno, par.59 7 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 59-62 8 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 63-69 9 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 70-75 10 Quadragesimo Anno, par.79 11 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 80 12 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 78-81 13 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 82-83 14 Quadragesimo Ano, par. 84-87 15 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 88-89 16 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 92-94 17 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 95-96 18 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 98 19 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 100-103 20 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 109 21 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 99-112 22 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 113-120 23 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 121-127 24 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 132 25 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 128-132 26 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 133-135 27 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 136 28 Quadragesimo Anno, par. 136-137 Notes to Labor Exercens
1
Acts of the Apostles, 10:38
Notes to Centesimus Annus
1 Centesimus Annus, part IV, section 34
2 Centesimus Annus, part IV, section 35
3 Centesimus Annus, part V, section 46
4 Spencer J. Kown, Iveran Ma, Kaspar
Zimmermann, May 2022, “100 Years of Corporate Concentration”
Scholar.harvard.edu/files/spenserykwon/files/concentration100years 3.pdf
5 Congressional Research Service, 16 June
2023, “A Brief Examination of Union Membership Data,”
sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R47596.pdf
6 Michael Novak (1993), The Catholic
Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, New York: The Free Press
7 Richard John Neuhaus (1992), Doing
Well and Doing Good, New Yrok: Doubleday
Notes
to Laudato Si’
1 Laudato
Si’, par.8
2 Laudato
Si’, par. 30
3 Laudato
Si’, par. 46
4 Laudato
Si’, par. 53 5 Laudato Si’, par. 59
6
Laudato
Si’, par.56
7
Laudato
Si’, par. 54
8
Deuteronomy 22:4-6; Exodus 23:12
9
Laudato
Si’, par. 68
10
Laudato
Si’, par. 70
11
Laudato
Si’, par. 79
12
Laudato
Si’, par. 83
13
Laudato
Si’, par. 89
14 Laudato
Si’, par. 93
15
Laudato
Si’, par. 94
16
Laudato
Si’, par. 113
17
Laudato
Si’, par. 119
18
Laudato
Si’, par. 128
19
Laudato
Si’, par. 189
20
Laudato
Si’, par. 193
21
Laudato
Si’, par. 203
22
Laudato
Si’, par. 209
23
Laudato
Si’, par. 222-23
24 Laudato Si’, par.
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Added on October 13, 2025 Last Updated on October 13, 2025 Author
peppino ruggeriHanwell, New Brunswick, CanadaAboutI am a retired academic. I enjoy gardening, writing poems and short stories and composing songs which may be found on my youtube channel Han Gardener or Spotify under peppino ruggeri. more.. |
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