Social Questions: Industrial Revolution to Church’s Social Doctrine
The Social Questions
The Industrial Revolution saw Great Britain, the world’s largest power, and other nations create a proletariat around factories. The economic ideas of Adam Smith and David Ricardo supported this revolution. Their doctrines stated:
- Economic laws are natural and cannot be judged as good or evil.
- Open competition regulates supply and demand.
- The state should not intervene in the economy.
This caused enormous inequalities. Owners controlled the means of production, while workers faced poor conditions and struggled to survive. Workers reacted by forming unions to support each other.
This reaction had three main forms:
Utopian Socialism
Advocated for an egalitarian and fraternal society, abolishing private property. Key figures included Saint Simon and Fourier.
Marxist Socialism
A scientific approach to socialism, calling for the abolition of private property and the means of production. Labor should not be a commodity but valued as human worth. Religion was seen as a tool to keep the exploited in check.
Anarchism
Opposed any coercive authority (state, church) and harmful hierarchies. Key figures included Bakunin and Kropotkin.
The Church also reacted to these issues:
Lamennais
Condemned the abuses of the working class and the unequal distribution of wealth.
Bucher
Advocated for restoring worker associations so they could be their own employers.
Ketteler
Sought to give workers a share in property, benefits, and management. He also advocated for regulating work hours, child labor, and fair wages.
Catholic Circles: Promoted Christian beliefs, worker associations, economic support for workers, cultural education, and recreational activities.
Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (15 May 1891):
- Affirmed the right to private property but not as the ultimate goal of a liberal economy.
- Stated that the State should intervene to protect private rights.
- Advocated for a decent living wage.
- Condemned class struggle and supported the right of workers to form associations.
Popes and Social Doctrine:
Pius XI and Quadragesimo Anno
Opposed Communism and Fascism. Called for capital and labor to contribute to economic production. Advocated for mixed economic systems and Christian charity.
Pius XII and Social Doctrine
Sought to apply encyclicals to concrete situations, promoting peace, better conditions for the disadvantaged, and an end to the Cold War.
John XXIII’s Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris
Vatican II and Gaudium et Spes
Addressed tensions and sought to understand the meaning of life. It discussed human dignity, community, the Church’s mission, and urgent problems like family, progress, peace, and social economy.
Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio
Emphasized comprehensive human development and global solidarity.
John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens
Focused on socioeconomic transformation, the integration of work, and moderate consumption. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis investigated global issues and the conditions for decent human development. Centesimus Annus.
Benedict XVI
Denounced unjust structures that maintain poverty in the Caribbean and Latin America, calling on the laity to act in light of the Gospel.
Jesus sought equality, justice, and solidarity. The Church aims to follow this mission by humanizing social structures, defending the oppressed, and creating institutions like hospices and orphanages. The Church’s work has helped abolish slavery, promote human dignity, and advance the rights of women and the right to life.
The American Declaration of Independence stated that all people are created equal before the law. The French Revolution and other movements followed this example.
Human dignity is based on being created in God’s image, with freedom, intelligence, and rights. The Church has always defended this dignity.
Humans are social beings who tend to communicate and relate to each other. Society should allow people to develop and satisfy their desire for happiness.
Common good fundamentals:
- Integral human development.
- Solidarity.
- Participation in political, economic, and cultural life.
- Universal destination of goods, meaning that the earth’s resources are for everyone, not just a few.