CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING · By Will Wright
Leo XIII on workers, employers, just wages, and the responsibilities of civil society.
Amid industrialization, harsh working conditions, and disputes over capital and labor, Pope Leo XIII wrote and released Rerum Novarum on Capital and Labor. Published in 1891, this encyclical is a foundational text of modern Catholic social teaching (CST). CST is nothing other than an application of perennial Church teaching to the modern developments of capitalism, liberalism, socialism, materialism, and the like. So, CST is not new, but the world’s ideologies and systems are. How does the Church speak truth to the world and ensure that people are being approached with true dignity? This is what CST aims to do. It is not an endorsement of capitalism or communism.
The three major themes of Rerum Novarum are:
The balancing of labor and capital
The common good and
The role of the state
Pope Leo XIII also recognized the special status of the poor in social issues and especially God’s love, compassion, and favor for the poor. This would later be called the preferential option for the poor.
Balancing Labor and Capital
Pope Leo XIII says early on in the document that:
“It is no easy matter to define the relative rights and mutual duties of the rich and of the poor, of capital and of labor. And the danger lies in this, that crafty agitators are intent on making use of these differences of opinion to pervert men's judgments and to stir up the people to revolt (RN, 2).”
Speaking of these rights and duties and offering a critique of the Marxist view of class struggle, the Pope says:
“The great mistake made in regard to the matter now under consideration is to take up with the notion that class is naturally hostile to class, and that the wealthy and the working men are intended by nature to live in mutual conflict. So irrational and so false is this view that the direct contrary is the truth. Just as the symmetry of the human frame is the result of the suitable arrangement of the different parts of the body, so in a State is it ordained by nature that these two classes should dwell in harmony and agreement, so as to maintain the balance of the body politic. Each needs the other: capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital. Mutual agreement results in the beauty of good order, while perpetual conflict necessarily produces confusion and savage barbarity. Now, in preventing such strife as this, and in uprooting it, the efficacy of Christian institutions is marvellous and manifold. First of all, there is no intermediary more powerful than religion (whereof the Church is the interpreter and guardian) in drawing the rich and the working class together, by reminding each of its duties to the other, and especially of the obligations of justice (RN, 19).”
Workers have duties towards their employers, the Pope says. They are to perform their work conscientiously which they have freely agreed to undertake. They should not settle issues with violence nor should they damage the property of their employer. Further they are “to have nothing to do with men of evil principles, who work upon the people with artful promises of great results, and excite foolish hopes which usually end in useless regrets and grievous loss (RN, 20).”
On the other hand, employers have duties as well. They should respect the dignity of their workers. There is a contract between employer and worker; they are not indentured servants, nor should they be seen as a factor in production. The employer needs to remember that working for a living is an honorable thing. They are not to overtax their workers by giving them work that is beyond their physical or mental capability. Employers must not defraud their employees into reducing their wages or create undue pressure. He says, “To defraud any one of wages that are his due is a great crime which cries to the avenging anger of Heaven (RN, 20).”
One of the most important items that Pope Leo writes about is the idea of what we now call a “living wage.” He says:
“Let the working man and the employer make free agreements, and in particular let them agree freely as to the wages; nevertheless, there underlies a dictate of natural justice more imperious and ancient than any bargain between man and man, namely, that wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner. If through necessity or fear of a worse evil the workman accept harder conditions because an employer or contractor will afford him no better, he is made the victim of force and injustice (RN, 45).”
These free agreements duly honor the dignity of man and also lead to the flourishing of the worker, the employer, and the State. So, the Pope argues, the State should ensure that the interests of the working class are “carefully watched over” because it will be a benefit to the whole community that “being housed, clothed, and bodily fit, they may find their life less hard and more endurable (RN, 34).”
The Common Good
Let us now briefly examine the second main theme: the common good. In a critique of socialism, the Pope says that people have a right to private ownership. However, this right must be balanced against the notion of the common good. He says:
“The chief and most excellent rule for the right use of money is one the heathen philosophers hinted at, but which the Church has traced out clearly, and has not only made known to men's minds, but has impressed upon their lives. It rests on the principle that it is one thing to have a right to the possession of money and another to have a right to use money as one wills. Private ownership, as we have seen, is the natural right of man, and to exercise that right, especially as members of society, is not only lawful, but absolutely necessary (RN, 22).”
He goes on to say, though, that:
“Whoever has received from the divine bounty a large share of temporal blessings, whether they be external and material, or gifts of the mind, has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting of his own nature, and, at the same time, that he may employ them, as the steward of God's providence, for the benefit of others (RN, 22).”
So, there is nothing wrong with having material wealth. But these gifts need to be used well and properly ordered for the good of all, in common. The Pope makes this point explicitly when he says, “all citizens, without exception, can and ought to contribute to that common good in which individuals share so advantageously to themselves… (RN, 34).” There must, of course, be a special concern in weighing the good of all in society towards the poor and marginalized, precisely because they are powerless, in many concerns, to advocate for themselves.
The Role of the State
The role of the state is the third main theme. And it is fairly simple. The State exists to ensure the wellbeing for all in society, that the common good is served. And the state must support individuals and families to grow and develop. He writes:
“Hereby, then, it lies in the power of a ruler to benefit every class in the State, and amongst the rest to promote to the utmost the interests of the poor; and this in virtue of his office, and without being open to suspicion of undue interference - since it is the province of the commonwealth to serve the common good. And the more that is done for the benefit of the working classes by the general laws of the country, the less need will there be to seek for special means to relieve them (RN, 32).”
Besides ensuring the dignity of the human person, this advice is so practical. If workers are benefited from the outset, then the needs of special programs will be lessened and perhaps eliminated. Can you imagine, for example, a society which takes the needs of the lower and middle classes seriously in a preemptive sense rather than pouring money into social welfare programs that address needs after the fact? What would need to change in society for this to be a reality? It is something which I think current and future generations must contend with. Catholic social teaching offers a substantial contribution to that task. The balance needed, especially in our broad and globalized society, comes from the life-giving saving Gospel of Jesus Christ instantiated through the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity.
The State should not subsume the place of individuals and families. It should be at the service of them and no more. As the Pope says,
“We have said that the State must not absorb the individual or the family; both should be allowed free and untrammelled action so far as is consistent with the common good and the interest of others (RN, 35).”
Human beings have dignity and worth, and the human family is the fundamental cell of society. If the State overwhelms this reality then society falls apart. In Rerum Novarum, the Pope teaches clearly that an important key to human dignity is the availability of fulfilling work, with pay and working conditions that show care and concern for the needs of the worker. Further, families have tangible needs and communities need to benefit from private enterprise.
Conclusion
I have not even scratched the surface of the masterpiece that is Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII. I highly recommend giving the whole thing a read through, especially if you are engaged in private enterprise, government work, or are a worker or employer. So, what I’m saying, really, is that everyone should read this document!