Social principles in John Paul's II encyclical "Laborem exercens"

Władysław Piwowarski

Social principles in John Paul’s II

encyclical "Laborem exercens"

Collectanea Theologica 53/Fasciculus specialis, 61-78

C ollectanea T h eologica 53 (1983) fasc. sp ecialis

W ŁADYSŁAW PIWOWARSKI, LUBLIN

SOCIAL PRINCIPLES IN JOHN PAUL'S II ENCYCLICAL

„LABOREM EXERCENS"

In m o st re c e n t p u b lic a tio n s p e rta in in g to C atho lic so cial te a ­ chings a tte n tio n is d ire c te d to th e n e c e ssity of e d u c atin g C atholics in th e sp irit of so cial p rin cip les on th e on e hand, w h ich is called „the so cial dim en sio n of relig io n ''. O n th e o the h and , it is em p h a ­ sized th a t th e re is a n eed to w o rk ou t an a d e q u a te sy ste m of th e se p rin c ip le s in v iew of th e ir in cre asin g re le v a n c e for th e so lu tion of social issues in th e ch ang in g conditio n s of societies.

T he fo rm er is c o n n e cte d w ith th e e v o lu tio n of so cial teach in g s of th e C h u rc h w h ere, alth o u g h a tte n tio n to c e rta in so cio -ethical prin c ip le s has alw ay s b e e n paid, e a rly so cial e n cy clicals (R erum

no va ru m and Q uadragesim o a n n o ) em phasized m odel solu tio ns of

th e social p ro b lem m o re th a n social p rin cip les th em selv es, w hich a d m itted of in itia tiv e an d c e rta in p lu ra lism as fa r as th e so lu tion of th is issu e w as co n cern ed . A n ex am p le is fu rn ish ed b y P iu s's XI e n c y clic a l Q uadragesim o anno, w h ich a tta c h e s a significant im por­ ta n c e to th e p rin c ip le of subsid izatio n. H o w ev er, it p ro m o tes th e so-called class-p ro fessio n al o rd e r b ased on m ed ie v al co rp o ratio n s. Pius XI p ro b a b ly m ea n t th e o verco m in g of th e „spirit of in d iv i­ du alism '', w h ich c o n trib u te d to th e d e stru c tio n of „ in term ed iate stru c tu re s '' b e tw e e n a n in d iv id u al and th e sta te . T h e refo re, it p a v e d th e w a y for th e sp re a d of to ta lita ria n (fascist) system s. The in tro d u c tio n of „p ro fession al classes" allo w ed to re c o n s tru c t th ese s tru c tu re s, o v erco m e class h a tre d , rea liz e s o lid a rity w ith in th e w o rk in g classes and w h a t is m o re im p o rta n t to rea liz e a ju ste r so cial system , free from ex tre m e s in to w h ich so cial sy stem s of th a t tim e w en t. H o w ev er, it sh o u ld b e stre sse d th a t th e class-p ro fessio ­ n a l o rd e r w as o n ly one of m a n y possib le ap p licatio n s of th e p rin ­ ciple of su bsidizatio n , to w h ich th e e n c y clic a l p oin ted. But th e co m m en tato rs on th e e n c y clic a l em phasized to o m u ch this v e ry m odel so lu tio n fo rg e ttin g ab o u t th e social p rin c ip le on w h ich it w as based. M aybe it is th e re a so n w h y in th e p o st-w ar p e rio d in Po­ lan d c e rta in C ath o lic circles m ain ta in e d th a t so cial te a c h in g of th e C h u rc h could be ap p lied to cap italism only. A c co rd in g to them , w h a t th a t te a c h in g w as aim ed at w as th e refo rm of c a p ita list

sy-siem by w a y of ev o lu tio n . B eginning w ith Jo h n 's X X III e n cy clical

M ater et M agistra, th e C h u rc h in its so cial te a c h in g d ire c ts its

a tte n tio n not to th e m odels of social so lu tio ns b u t to so cial p rin c i­ ples. M ore p rec isely , it is co n c ern e d w ith ex p osition , in te rn aliz a tio n an d re a liz a tio n of social p rin cip les, w h ich find ap p licatio n in e v e ry social system ex istin g in th e c o n te m p o ra ry w orld. C h u rc h w as not called into bein g in o rd e r to c re a te an a lte rn a tiv e social sy stem in th e c o u n tries of th e First, Second or T h ird W o rld s b ut it „con­ sid ers it to be its obig atio n ", J o h n P au l II w rites, ,,to sp e ak its v iew s ab o u t th e q u estio n s of lab o u r from th e p o in t of v ie w of its h u m an v a lu e s and from th e p o in t of v iew of social m o ra l sy stem co n n ected w ith la b o u r" 1. T he Pope refers his w o rds to lab o u r since „hum an lab o u r is p ro b ab ly th e m ost sig n ifican t k e y to th e w hole social issu e " 2. H o w ev er, h e u n d e rsta n d s th e social issu e b ro ad ly an d in d ifferen t d im ensions an d co n seq u e n tly he refe rs th e „duty" of th e C h u rc h to all m an ifestatio n s of th is problem .

T he la tte r consists in w o rk in g out su ch a sy stem of social p rin ­ ciples w h ich w ould allo w to sy stem atize, at lea st in a g e n e ra l w ay , basic p rin cip les if n o t all of th em th at is th o se specific applicataonal p rin c ip le s close to p ra x is 3. T he e re c tio n of su ch a sy stem is not e a sy on th e sc o re of th e lack of an a d e q u ate set, e v e n in re fe ­ re n c e to basic p rin cip les, in th e lite ra tu re of th e su b ject. T h ere does not ex ist a se t w h ich w o u ld b e g e n e ra lly ap p ro v e d of.

A cco rd in g to G. E rm ecke4, re p re s e n ta tiv e s of C ath olic social tea c h in g a re u n an im o u s as to th e follow ing points: a) th e re ex ist c e rta in p rin ciples: b) th e re a re m o re th a n one of th ese; c) g e n e ­ rally , e v e ry b o d y reco g n izes at lea st tw o p rin cip les — s o lid a rity and subsidization ; d) th e p rin c ip le of su b sid izatio n is m o re im po r­ ta n t th a n th e p rin c ip le of so lid arity ; e) it is difficult to find som e fu n d am e n ta l p rin c ip le from w h ich to d e d u c e all o th e rs 5. H o w ev er, au th o rs a re n ot in a g re e m e n t as to th e follow ing po ints: a) th e w ay to define th e n o tio n of social p rin cip le (co n ten ts an d functions); th e nu m b er of so cial p ricip les; c) h o w to b rin g th em into re la tio n ­ ship in o rd er to build up a c e rta in system .

T h e ab o v e sp h e re s of a g re e m e n t an d d isa g re em e n t b e tw e en th e a u th o rs in th e ir v iew s u p o n social p rin c ip le re v e a l th e d ifficulty m en tio n ed ab o ve e v e n in a sh a rp e r w ay. If th e re ex ists lac k of con ­

1 J o h n P a u l II: Laborem exercens. W arsaw 1982, N o 24 (abbreviation: Enc. L.e.).

2 Enc. L.e., No 3.

3 Cf. Cz. S t r z e s z e w s k i : Ewolu cja k a to l ic k i e j nauki społecznej. W ar­ szaw a 1978 p. 298.

4 Beiträge zu r christlichen G esellschaitsleh re, hrsg. von R. P a d b e r g und

M. P a n k o k e - S c h e n k . Paderborn 1977 p. 105.

5 For E r m e c k e , th e basic principle from w hich all others m ay be deduced is "the principle of fam iliarism" (Das Grundprinzip des Familiarismus), ibid, pp. 116— 121.

S O C IA L P R IN C IP L E S IN ,, LA B O R EM EX ER C E N S' ₆₃ siste n cy as to o ne and th e sam e n o tio n of social p rin c ip le how can on e ex p ect to build up an o rd ere d sy stem of e v en basic p rin cip les. This situ a tio n is p ro b ab ly co n d itio n ed b y a nu m ber of factors, am ong o th ers by ideo lo g ical stan d p o in t, p h ilo so ph ical o rie n ta tio n , school and tre n d of social thoug h t.

H av in g in m ind b o th th e e x p o sitio n of so cial p rin cip les in th e so cial tea c h in g of th e C h u rc h an d th eo retic-m eth o d o lo g ical p ro ­ blem s co n n ected w ith it, it is w o rth e n te rin g u p o n a ta s k of s y ­ stem atizin g th e p roblem s asso ciated w ith th e se prin ciples. A lth o u g h th e p re se n t a rticle c o n c en tra te s upo n social prin cip les as th e y a p p e ar in th e e n c y clic a l Laborem e x ercen s, on e sh ou ld te n ta tiv e ly a tte n d to tw o o th er problem s, n am ely: w h ich so cial p rin cip les are p re se n t in th e social teach in g s of th e C h u rc h before this e n cy clical an d n ex t, w h at a social p rin cip le is or — to p u t it b e tte r ·— w h at th e genesis and c o n te n ts of social p rin c ip le are. In this la tte r p ro b ­ lem th e side-issu e co n cern s th e in v e stig a tio n of p h ilo so ph ical g ro u n d s on w h ich th e social teach in g s of th e C h u rch is based.

I. Social principles in the social teachings of the Church before the en cyclical "Laborem exercens"

T h e b asic q u e stio n w h ich com es to m in d in c o n n ectio n w ith social en cy clicals refers to th e v a rie ty of social prin cip les and w h at is m o re to th e e x p o sitio n of v ario u s p rin cip les at d ifferen t period s. C an one sp e ak of „ch an g eab ility " of so cial p rin c ip le in su ch a case? In its so cial tea c h in g s th e C h u rch su p p o rts social m o ra l o rd er w hich po in ts to th e fact th a t n a tu ra l and leg al p rin cip les a re m eant. T h e re fo re th e p rin cip les esta b lish e d in th e o b jec tiv e co u rse of n a ­ tu ra l law a re re fe rre d to. As a co n seq u e n c e of th is, „ch an g eab ility " m en tio n ed ab o v e sho uld be tre a te d as th e „ev olu tion " of social principles. „C h an g eab ility " could su g g est a b so lu te re la tiv ity and th e re fo re su b sta n tia l c h a n g ea b ility of n a tu ra l la w 6 w hich social p rin cip les c o n stitu te a p a rt of. But „ev o lutio n " of so cial p rin c ip le s in ency clicals m ay be u n d e rsto o d in a v a rie ty of w ay s too. It seem s th a t one can e n u m e ra te at least th re e m eaning s of th e n o tio n of „ev o lu tio n " in social tea c h in g s of th e C hurch:

1) E volution in th e se n se of stre ssin g c e rta in p rin cip les in d e­ finite h isto ric a l conditions. For exam ple, Leo XIII ą c c e n tu a te d th e p rin c ip le of com m on good in th e ep o ch of p e rv a d in g econom ic lib eralism w h e re as Pius XI em phasized th e p rin cip le of su b sid i­ zation in th e ep och of d e v elo p in g to talitarism s. In a c co rd a n ce w ith 6 J. L e c l e r c q w rote an article w here he exp ressed an opinion that na­ tural law is not know n (N atural L aw the Unknown, N atural Law Forum 7, 1962, pp. 1— 15). H ow ever, h e m eant not the problem of the ex isten ce of natural law but its contents w hich should in vestigated em pirically.

th e tea c h in g s of th e s e popes, b o th p rin cip les a re co n sid e red „ba­ s ic " 7. T he fact th a t o ne of th em is em ph asized at th e tim e w hen it is v io la te d m o re th a n o th ers does n ot c o n tra d ic t th e ex iste n ce of o th er p rin cip les, w h ich n eed n o t be rem in d ed of at a g iv en tim e. T h e refo re, „ev o lu tion " m ean s th e rem in d in g of d efin ite basic p rin ­ ciples on acco u n t of „signs of tim e".

2) E v olu tio n in th e se n se of in cre asin g k n o w le d g e of th e con ­ te n ts an d fu nctio n s of so cial p rin ciples. A n ex am p le m ay be fu rn i­ sh e d by th e p rin c ip le of su b sid izatio n , w h ich w as im plicit in th e offi­ cial sta te m e n ts of Leo XIII. T his p rin c ip le w as c le a rly fo rm u lated by P ius XI, w ho en clo sed its c o n ten ts an d fu n ctio n s in th e n e g a tiv e asp ec t m ainly. T he popes w ho cam e a fte r Pius XI p a id g re a te r a tte n tio n to its p o sitiv e m ean in g and functions an d w h at is m ore th e y re fe rre d it to th e sp h e re of p o litic a l life (Pacem in terris,

O cto gesim a a d ven ien s), to th e a u to n o m y of th e w o rld and c u ltu re (G audium et spes) and to th e w h o le h u m an com m u nity (M aier et M agistra, P opulorum progressio). T h e refo re h e re e v o lu tio n m eans

th e in cre asin g k n o w le d g e of th e c o n te n ts and fu nction s of social prin cip les.

3) E volution in th e sen se of th e ap p lic atio n of social p rin ­ ciples to th e c h an g in g m anifestatio n s of so cial life. A n exam p le m a y be fu rn ish ed b y th e p rin c ip le of m an 's rig h ts, w h ic h should be u n d e rsto o d as a p a rt of th e p rin cip le of subsidization. For th e first tim e this p rin c ip le w as c le a rly fo rm u lated b y Jo h n P au l II in his enc. R ed em p to r h o m in is9 a lth o u g h it h ad b een im plicit in a ll social docu m en ts of th e C hurch. In sp ite of its g e n e ra l form ule it m ay be in te rp re te d and applied in all social con ditio ns reg a rd le ss of th e socio -p o litical sy stem and w h a t is m o re in e v e ry form of social life su ch as fam ily, „in te rm e d ia te com m unities", th e sta te a n d h u m an com m unity. In his e n c y clic a l R ed em pto r hom inis, Pope J o h n P au l II applies it to m a c ro -stru c tu re s an d to basic sp h e re s of social life. H o w ev er, h e m akes c o n c re te req u irem e n ts and calls for th e re sp e c t for m an 's d ig n ity an d rights.

It is w o rth ad d in g g ra tie r A. R a u sc h e r10 th a t th e p rob lem of th e a p p lic atio n of social p rin c ip le s has b e e n tre a te d o n e-sided ly in th e social tea c h in g s of th e C hurch. It is so b e c au se th e y do not p ro p e rly a p p re c ia te th e specific socio-m oral p ro b lem s co n n ected w ith th e

7 L e о XIII called the principle of com m on good the "first and the last

Jaw in so ciety after God" (Breve A u milieu des sollicitudes dated Febr. 16, 1892. In: A c ta Leonis XIII Pontilicis Maximi, vol. XII. Rome 1893, p. 33), w hereas P i u s XI called the principle of subsidization the "highest law of social p h ilo­ sophy' '(Quadragesimo anno, N o. 79).

8 Speech dated Febr. 20, 1946. In: U t z - G r o n e r : A u lbau und Entfaltung

des gesellschaStlichen Lebens. Soziale Summe Pius XII. Freiburg/Schw. 1954, No.

4994. 9 N o. 17.

S O C IA L PR IN C IP L E S IN , .LA B O R EM E X E R C E N S " ₆₅ ten sio n s an d conflicts in social life. T he m o ra l aim w as g iv en g re a te r em p h asis th a n th e m ean s to a tta in th is aim in d efin ite so­ cial conditions. T h e y sp o k e m o re ab o u t m an an d his rig h ts, ab o u t com on good and fair d istrib u tio n of goods, ab o u t h arm o nio us c o o p e ra tio n for th e sa k e of w o rld p e a c e th a n ab o u t com petition, strik es, rev o lu tio n , fu n ctio n s of th e m ark e t, prizes, etc. T h erefo re, e v o lu tio n u n d e rsto o d as th e ap p lic atio n of so cial p rin c ip le s d e serv e s special a tte n tio n , p a rtic u la rly in th e p e rsp e c tiv e of th e dev elo p m en t of c o n te m p o ra ry so cieties.

E volu tio n of social p rin cip les h as a b e a rin g on th e difficulty of finding th em out in so cial d o cu m ents of th e C hurch. A s c a n be seen, th e y a re fo rm u lated in v a rio u s h isto ric a l co n tex ts, on diffe­ re n t lev els of g en era liz a tio n , n a rro w ly or b ro a d ly and th e y a re not alw ay s explicit. W h a t is m o re, som etim es th e y a re asso ciated w ith th e th e o ry of social life, som etim es w ith c o n c re te conditions of a g iv en p lace and tim e. It is c e rta in ly co n d itio n ed b y th e r e ­ fere n c e to th e o rd er of n a tu ra l law in th e sen se th a t th e a u th o r of e n cy clicals and social sta te m e n ts re fe r e ith e r to its p rim a ry prin cip les o r o n ly to its d ire c t an d in d ire ct conclusions. D epending on th e se lev els o n e c an com e acro ss few er or m o re principles. M o reo v er, som e of th em m ay c o n stitu te an o b stacle in th e e re c tio n of a sy ste m of social p rin cip les b e c au se — as J. M ajka stre sse s — th e y a re c o rre la tiv e , i.e. in te r-c o n n e cte d in su ch a w ay th a t ,,one c a n n o t be rea liz e d w ith o u t a n o th e r" or th a t one can be in te rp re te d ou t of a n o th e r o n e11. M o reo v er, som e of th em a re in o pp o sitio n to one a n o th e r in th e sen se th a t an a tte m p t to ab so lutize o n e of th em p u ts it in th e o p p o sitio n to a n o th e r. Sum m ing th is up, it m eans th a t both fo rm u latio n an d in te rp re ta tio n of e a ch of th e se social p rin c ip le s m ust be c a rrie d out in th e co n te x t of th e o th ers. This lead s to a c e rta in sy ste m of so cial p rin cip les b e c au se in re a lity th e y c o n stitu te, at lea st im plicitely, som e sy ste m and th e y can be co m p e ten tly fo rm u lated an d in te rp re te d in th is v e ry system only.

N ow let us look c lo sely at th e se ts of social p rin cip les w hich occur in so cial do cum en ts of th e C h u rc h a n d in th e lite ra tu re of th e su b je c ts b ased on th e se v e ry d ocum ents. A s far as social do­ cum ents of th e C h u rc h a re c o n cern ed , th e y e n u m e rate such p rin ­ ciples as: so lid a rity , com m on good, su b sid izatio n, ju stic e and social ch arity . T he p rin c ip le s of s u p e rio rity of an in d iv idu al, hum an rights, freedom , tru th , d ialo g u e, com prom ise, d e m o c rac y a re n o t so fre ­ q u e n tly found. T his set refe rs to th e fre q u e n c y of th e a b o v e p rin ­ ciples. In a c tu a l fact, one can o ften com e acro ss specific in stru c t­ ions based on m an y of th e se p rin c ip le s b u t th e p rin cip les them selv es a re n o t rem in d ed of. M o reo v er, th e ep o ch w h e n th e y a re rem ind ed

11 Filozofia społeczn a. W arszaw a 1982 p. 167.

of and ex p o sed b y th e C h u rc h p lay s a sig n ifican t ro le here. For exam ple, th e p rin c ip le s of th e su p e rio rity of an in d iv id u al an d h um an rig h ts h a v e b e e n p a rtic u la rly a c c e n tu a te d rec e n tly .

It is m o re difficult to d ev ise su c h se ts of social prin cip les am ong re p re s e n ta tiv e s of C ath o lic so cial teach in g s. It seem s th a t su c h sets a re su b je c t to c e rta in co nfusion an d th e y disp lace th e ca ta lo q u e of social prin cip les w hich fre q u e n tly d e v ia te from social docum en ts of th e C h u rch . W h ile d e a lin g w ith th is p henom enon, Fr. v o n N ell-B reuning em phasizes th a t d ifferences b e tw e en th e a u th o rs of C ath olic social tea c h in g s a re no t of fac tu al c h a ra c te r an d th e y a re n o t o p posite to on e a n o th e r12. A s an exam ple, tw o fo reig n and tw o P o lish a u th o rs w ill be d ra w n a tte n tio n to. J. Höff- n e r in his fam ous m a n u a l13 e n u m e rate s th e follow ing prin cip les: so lid artiy , su b sid izatio n an d com m on good as w e ll as tw o efficien­ cies: ju stic e an d so cial c h a rity . A. K lose in o ne of his re c e n t m a­ n u als p e rta in in g to C ath o lic so cial te a c h in g s 11 e n u m e rate s th e follow ing p rin cip les: so lid a rity , subsid izatio n , com m on good, th e p rin c ip le of a h u m an being, n a tu ra l law , o rd e r and freedom . Cz. S trzeszew sk i p re se n ts a d ifferent se t of so cial p rin cip les, n am ely th e prin cip les of p erso n alism , ju stice, freedom , e q u a lity , d em ocracy, com prom ise an d d ia lo g u e 15. This se t v a rie s from th e p ro je c t b y J. M ajk a as p re s e n te d in his re c e n t p u b lic a tio n 16. T he a u th o r e n u ­ m e ra te s th e p rin c ip le of p erso n alism an d o th e r p rin cip les co n n ected w ith it: freedom , su b sid ization and social p lu ralism , th e p rin cip le of so cial ju stic e an d th e p rin c ip le of d e m o c rac y asso c ia te d w ith th e form er, th e n th e p rin c ip le of tr u th an d th e p rin c ip le of love, w hich h e c o n sid ers to be th e c o n d itio n of peace.

O n th e basis of th e a b o v e „catalo g u es" of social p rin cip les w e can a tte m p t to u n d e rta k e c e rta in sy stem atizatio n . H o w ev er, it w o u ld n o t be sufficient since on th e on e h a n d th e re does no t ex ist a p rec ise defin itio n of th e so cial p rin c ip le itself an d on th e o th er, th e re do not ex ist su fficient p h ilo so p h ical g ro u n d s w h ich m ak e it possible to p re s e n t a cle a r co n cep t of th e sy ste m of th e s e p rin cip les, n a tu ra lly in th e „sp irit" of so cial tea c h in g s of th e C hurch. T he a n a ­ lysis of b o th of th e s e pro b lem s is n o t ea sy , h o w e v e r it is n e c e ssa ry in o rd er to av o id a h a p h a z a rd sy stem of social p rin cip les w hich w o uld n o t be b ased u p o n a d e q u a te c riteria . T ho se last-m en tio n ed sho uld be s e a rc h e d for in p e rso n a listic co n cep t of so cial o rd e r in

12 S oziallehte der Kirche. Erläuterungen der le hr am tlichen D okumen te. W ien 1977 p. 21.

13 J. H ö f f n e r: Christliche G esellschaitsleh re. Studienausgabe. 2. A uflage der Studienausgabe nach der 7., erw eiterten A uflage. Köln 1978 p. 32.

14 A. K l o s e: Die k a th olis che Soziallehre. Ihr Anspru ch — ihre Aktualität-

Graz, W ien, Köln 1979 pp. 15— 17.

35 Ewolu cja k a to l ic k i e j nauki s p o ł e c z n e j ibid. p. 297 ff. 16 Filozoiia społeczna ibid. p. 168 ff.

S O C IA L PR IN C IP L E S IN „L A B O R E M EX ER C E N S" ₆₇ w h ich b o th a n in d iv id u al an d com m on good a re ta k e n in to con si­ d e ra tio n . T h e refo re, b o th ,,e x tre m itie s" of so cial r e a lity a re ta k e n in to a c c o u n t w h ich allow s n e ith e r for in d iv id u alism n o r for to ta - litarism .

II. G enesis and substance of social life v s. social principles

In o rd e r to d efin e th e n o tio n of so cial p rin c ip le a n d to find c rite ria for a sy ste m of so cial p rin c ip le s o n th e g ro u n d s of social tea c h in g s of th e C h u rch , o n e sh o u ld re fe r o n eself to th e genesis a n d s u b sta n c e of so cial life. It is so b e c a u se h e re lies th e „m eta­ p h y sic a l" fo u n d atio n of social p rin c ip le s as w e ll as of th e ir su b ­ sta n c e a n d functions. It is th e w a y to d ecid e w h a t th e y a re and ho w th e y act in th e fra m ew o rk of so cial life.

A s far as th e g e n e sis is c o n cern ed , it m a y b e s ta te d th a t g e­ n e ra lly n o b o d y re je c ts th e A rtisto te lia n -T h o m ist th esis, acco rd in g to w h ich m an is a so cial c re a tu re 17. T his assu m p tion , as P. R ybicki stre sse s, w as of g re a t im p o rta n c e in th e h isto ry of so cial th o u g h t18. It m ade is possib le to sta n d o u t a g a in st s ta tis tic a l ap p ro a c h e s to th e s u b je c t w h ic h tre a te d m an as so m eth in g w h ich is given, rea d y , self-sufficien t on th e o n e h and, an d on th e o th e r it allo w ed a re a li­ stic an d d y nam ic co n cep t of m an to b e d ev elo p ed . A s is accep ted by this re a listic p h ilo so p h ic a n th ro p o lo g y , m an — a m a te ria l and s p iritu a l c re a tu re , is a p erfe c t, co m p lete an d „accom plished" b eing in th e a sp ec t of its s u b sta n tia l e x isten ce. H o w ev er, h e has p o ten tia l, a b ility to d ev e lo p a n d p e rfe c t him self in th e asp ec t of his a c tiv ity 19: In o th e r w o rd s, m a n is b o rn to be a m an, an in d iv id u al w h o d e ­ se rv e s sp e cia l d ig n ity an d w o rth on th e sc o re of his re a so n . H ow e v e r, in th e a sp ec t of his ra tio n a l, fre e an d resp o n sib le activ ity , h e h as a c h a n ce to rea liz e his h u m an ity , to d ev elo p h u m an p ro ­ p e rtie s, to b ecom e a full rea liz a tio n of his o w n p e rso n a lity .

A s is seen , th e so cial h u m an n a tu re is n o t o n ly an in itia l disp o­ sitio n w h e re th e c o u rse of life sta rts. It is e v e ry th in g w h ic h has b e e n a tta in e d th ro u g h o u t life a n d liv in g w ith o th e rs 29. T his n a tu re com prises in clin a tio n s an d n e e d s on th e on hand , an d th e feeling of belo n g in g to th e co m m u n ity o n th e o th er. O w ing to th e la tte r, m an becom es co n scio u s of re a lly in fin ite p o ssib ilities of d e v e lo p ­ m en t an d p e rfe c tin g him self. N a tu ra lly , th e p ro ce ss of p e rfectin g o neself is u n d e rsto o d as going alo n g th e lin e of o b je c tiv e dem ands

17 "Anthrophos p h y sei p olitik on dzoon" A r i s t o t e l e s : P olitica, I, 1, 1253,

a. 2— 3 and "Homo naturaliter e st anim al sociale" (D. T h o m a e A q u i n a t i s :

T ractatu s d e reg e e t regno, I, 1).

18 A r i s t o t e l : P o c zą tk i i p o d s ta w y n au ki o s p o łe c ze ń stw ie . W rocław - -W arszaw a-K raków 1963 p. 33.

18 Cf. J. M a r i t a i n : H um anism e in tég ra l. 2nd ed. Paris 1946 p. 64.

of h u m an n a tu re an d b ein g co n sisten t w ith o b jec tiv e dem ands of re la tio n sh ip s into w h ic h h u m an e x iste n ce is w o u n d and w h ich m u st be ta k e n in to acco u n t in o n e's a c tiv ity 21. M an is also a w a re of th e fact th a t p e rfe c tio n m ay o ccu r in him — on a c co u n t of to o insufficient in n e r s tre n g th — o n ly to a lim ited e x te n t. A n d th is is th e p o in t w h en on e m u st „com e o u tsid e onself" an d c o n tra c t re la tio n s w ith o th e r p e o p le in o rd e r to rea liz e all th o se v a lu e s w h ich a re in d isp e n sab le for g e n e ra l d e v elo p m en t a n d w h ich a re b e y o n d th e re a c h of an in d iv id u al sta y in g o u tsid e th e fram ew o rk s of so cial life22. T his is h o w h u m an social life in its v a rio u s social form s begins. T h e se form s a re to a sm aller or g re a te r d e g re e a po­ s tu la te of m an 's so cial n a tu re a n d at th e sam e tim e th e y a re a m eans to rea liz e p e rso n a l aim s for all p a rtic ip a n ts of life in com m unity.

This v e ry so cial n a tu re of a h u m an b ein g co n stitu te s th e m e­ ta p h y s ic a l fo u n d atio n an d d ire c t b asis of social p rin ciple. In cli­ n a tio n s an d n eed s as w ell as b elo n g ing to a co m m un ity w hich a re in h u m an social n a tu re a re ontic d isp osition s w h ich give d ire c tio n to h u m an a c tiv ity an d in ten tio n s. H o w ev er, th e y alon e do not m ake up so cial p rin cip les. H o w ev er, as is stre sse d b y E. W e tty , „ n a tu ra l e x iste n c e also ju stifies th e sam e n a tu ra l d u ty n a tu ra lly d e sire d " 23. It m ean s th a t d isp o sitio n s m en tio n e d a b o v e as w ell as all fu n d am e n ta l in clin atio n s of h u m an n a tu re c o n stitu te th e basis for n o rm a tiv e p rin cip les of n a tu ra l law . T h ro u g h re fle c t­ ion, h um an m ind re v e a ls th is tra it of c e rta in m o ral o rd e r in h u m an n a tu re an d on th e basis of th e s e d ire c te d te n d e n c ie s it fo rm u lates n o rm a tiv e p rin c ip le s co n c ern in g social life.

As is k n o w n , social p rin c ip le s b elo n g to th e th ird g ro up of p r i­ m a ry p rin c ip le s n e x t to th o se w h ich c o n c ern th e p re s e rv a tio n of th e ex iste n ce of a n in d iv id u al an d th e sp ecies24. This g rou p of p rin c ip le s in to w h ic h so cial p rin cip les fall co n cern s specifically h u m an life to g e th e r w ith so cial life, w h ich is of s p iritu a l c h a ra c te r. S p eak in g ab o u t so cial p rin c ip le s, one c a n q u o te after J. K rucina: „good sh o u ld b e d o n e jo in tly , c o llectiv ely , so cially , in a g ro u p "25 in o rd er to c re a te com m on v a lu e s on th e o n e h an d , a n d on th e o th er, to rea liz e p e rso n a l aim s th ro u g h th e s e v e ry v alu es. T herefore, com m on v a lu e s as a m ean s to rea liz e p e rso n a l ones. This is close to th e n o tio n of so cial p rin c ip le com prises a d ic ta te of re a so n to c re a ­ te to th e defin itio n g iv en b y J. K rucina. H e w rite s th a t social p rin -21 Cf. S. O l e j n i k : Eudajmonizm. Studium nad p o d sta w a m i e ty k i , Lublin 1958 pp. 167 ff.

22 Cf. A . R a u s c h e r : Personalität, Solidarität, Subsidiarität. Kath olische

Soziallehre in Text und Kommentar. Heft 1. M önchengladbach 1975 pp. 14— 17.

23 Her ders Sozial-Katechismus. V ol. I. Grundfragen und G rundkräfte des

so zia le n Lebens. 3rd ed. Freiburg 1957 p. 54.

24 D. T h o m a e A q u i n a t i s : Summa th eologica, I —II, 2.

25 J. K r u c i n a : Dobro w spóln e. Teoria i j e j zastosow an ie. W rocław 1972 p. 109.

S O C IA L P R IN C IP L E S IN „L A B O R E M EX E R C E N S ” ₆₉ cipie is ,,a d ic ta te of p ra c tic a l rea so n , w h ich e sta b lish e s a com m on v a lu e an d im poses it u p o n p e o p le to be rea liz e d jo in tly in a so ­ c ie ty " 26. T h e d ifferen ce b e tw e e n th o se tw o d efin itio n s con sists in se p a ra te sta rtin g p o in ts in th e c re a tio n of th e co n cep t of social life27. T he first-m en tio n ed is c e rta in ly clo ser to p h ilo so p h ical p re ­ m ises of so cial d o c trin e of th e C hurch. M o reo v er, th e n o tio n of social p rin c ip le as a n a tu ra l a n d leg a l n o rm com prises a d ic ta te n o t o n ly to c re a te com m on v a lu e s b u t to s u b o rd in a te th em to th e p u rp o se s and ta sk s of a h u m an being, w h o is th e „begin nin g and th e en d of all so cial life"28. K ru cin a c e rta in ly d u ly a p p re c ia te s th is m om ent in sp ite of th e fact th a t h e n eg lects it in his defin ition b e c au se h e tre a ts so cial p rin c ip le s as m o ral p rin ciples. J. M ajka re p re s e n ts a v a g u e r sta n d p o in t. A c co rd in g to him so cial p rin c ip le s a re g e n e ra l sta te m e n ts w h ich co n c ern n o rm a l fu n ctio n in g of so ­ ciety. T h e refo re, a „social p rin c ip le " is n o t n e c e s s a rily a m o ra l norm w h ich b inds on p e o p le in th e ir a c tiv itie s alth o u g h h e adm its th a t th e m a jo rity of so cial p rin c ip le s can b e g iv e n th e form of m o ra l norm s a n d th e y c a n b e ju stified b y m ean s of a rg u m e n ta tio n ap p lied in e th ic s29. It is h a rd to ex p la in th is am b iv a le n c e all th e m o re b e c au se th e a u th o r h im self d eals w ith n a tu ra l-le g a l p rin cip les w h ich occu r in so cial te a c h in g of th e C hurch.

A ssum ing th a t social p rin c ip le s c o n stitu te a p a rt of n a tu ra l law , a sta rtin g p o in t from w h ich to d efin e th e ir su b sta n c e an d fu n ctio n s an d to d iv id e th em h as b e e n d eterm in ed . A lth o u g h so cial p rin c ip le s a re e sta b lish e d in m an 's so cial n a tu re , th e y find th e ir full e x p re ssio n an d se n se in so cial life. T h at is w h y on e sh ou ld an a ly z e th e e sse n c e of so cial life first in o rd er to p re s e n t th em as th e p rin c ip le s of e x iste n c e and so cial activ ity . A s follow s from p re v io u s a n a ly se s, p eo p le a re by n a tu re m ea n t for so cial life th e ­ re fo re for jo in t m ak in g of com m on v a lu e s th ro u g h w h ich th e y gain th e ir p e rso n a l o b jectiv es. T h a t is w h y o n e can s ta te th a t th e esen c e of social life co n sists in th is v e ry jo in t p u rsu it of a rb itra rily chosen v a lu e s, in c a rry in g th e m in to effect an d in „ in te r-su b je c tiv e " com ­ m u n icatio n w ith in th e fra m ew o rk of so cial co o p eratio n . In sh o rt, it co nsists in „re c e iv in g an d g iv in g "36, as G. G u n d lach say s. This m ean s th a t w h ile s triv in g fo r so cial life, h u m an being s rea liz e b o th social v a lu e s (in th e se n se th a t th e s e m a y b e c re a te d in a com m u­ n ity only) an d p e rso n a l v a lu e s (in th e se n se th a t th e y h a v e som e

26 ibid. p. 112.

27 Here tw o sch ools in C atholic social teachings are m eant — solidaristic and friburgian w hich differ in their approaches to the definition of com m on good.

28 P i u s XII: S p eech dated Febr. 20, 1946. In: U t z - G r o n e r ibid. N o. 4093.

22 J. M a j k a , ibid. p. 165.

30 Q uoted after A . R a u s c h n e r : Personalität, Solidarität, Subsidiarität ibid. p. 17.

m ea n in g for a g iv en m an). T h e se v a lu e s do n o t ex ist in th e a b stra c t b u t th e y a re in h u m an being s as th e o n ly su b sta n tia l su b je c ts of social life. In th is w a y th e y a c q u ire a n c illa ry c h a ra c te r in re la tio n to a h u m an being. A n in d iv id u al as a p a rtic ip a n t in social life c o n trib u te s to th e fulfilm ent of com m on o b jec tiv e s an d ta s k s as w e ll as h e rec e iv e s h elp an d en ric h es him self. This is an m despens- a ble con d ition of his life an d d ev elo p m en t.

From th e a b o v e o n e c a n d ra w th e follow ing conclusio ns: a) h u m an b ein g is n o t a n o rd in a ry p a rt of som e e n tire ty for in sta n ­ ce of th e sta te . T h an k s to his d ig n ity an d o b jec tiv e s, h e o u tg ro w s all o th e r so cial c re a tu re s ; b) T h ro u g h his n a tu re , a h u m an b ein g is m ea n t for th e rea liz a tio n of v a lu e s to g e th e r w ith o th e r people, i.e. in so cial c o -o p e ra tio n an d rela tio n sh ip . T h a t is w h y he sh ou ld su b o rd in a te h im self to com m on good; c) Com m on v a lu e s th a t is com m on goods h a v e n o t a p u rp o se in th e a b stra ct. T h e y a re c re a te d b y p a rtic ip a n ts of so cial life. T h at is w h y in th e la st th e y sho u ld b e s u b o rd in a te d to th e s e v e ry p a rtic ip a n ts b e c a u se th e y h a v e th e ir aim in th e h u m an b e in g 31.

Com ing b a c k to „giving an d rec e iv in g ", on e sh o u ld em phasize th a t th e re a re tw o b asic te n d e n c ie s of so cial life. T he first one from a h u m an b ein g to w a rd s com m on good w h e re a s th e seco n d — in th e o p p o site w a y — from com m on good to w a rd s a h u m an being. B oth ten d e n c ie s c o n stitu te th e fu n d am en tal for th e fo rm ulatio n of b asic so cial p rin c ip le s re fe rrin g to p e rso n a listic social o rd er. T h ese p rin c ip le s m ight b e tre a te d as th e p rin c ip le s of social e x iste n ce th e re fo re as o n to lo g ical b e c a u se th e y d efin e an d e x p re ss th e e sse n c e of so cial life. T h e y c a n also b e tre a te d as p rin c ip le s of a c tiv ity b e c au se n orm s of a n y k in d of e x iste n ce a re norm s of its a c tiv ity , as w ell („a c tiv ity com es a fte r ex isten ce"). A t last, th e y m ight be tre a te d as n a tu ra l-le g a l n orm s sin ce th e y c o n stitu te th e basis of so cial rig h ts an d d uties.

A s follow s from th e ab o v e, th e re a re o n ly tw o or th re e b asic so cial p rin cip les. T h e first one, b ased on a te n d e n c y „from a n indi­ v id u al to w a rd s so ciety ", stre sse s com m on good (the p rin c ip le of com m on good); th e seco n d on e, b a sed on a te n d e n c y „from so ciety to w a rd s an in d iv id u al", stre sse s th e good of an in d iv id u al (the p rin ­ ciple of su bsidization); th e th ird one, b ased on b o th of th e s e te n ­ d en cies, s tre s se s com m on good as w ell as th e good of a n ind i­ v id u a l (the p rin c ip le of so lid arity ). A ll to g e th e r, th e s e prin cip les c o n trib u te to th e c re a tio n of a p e rso n a listic social sy ste m w h ic h — as has a lre a d y b e e n m en tio n e d — jo in s tw o ex trem es, i.e. com m on good an d th e good of an indiv id u al.

T hese p rin cip les, fo rm u lated o n th e b asis of th e fu n d am en tal te n ­ d e n c ie s w h ich a p p e a r in so cial life, c re a te th e „core" of all o th e r so cial p rin c ip le s th a t c a n be found in so cial d o c u m en ts of th e C hurch. Som e of th em a c c e n tu a te an in d iv id u al an d his rig h ts in

S O C IA L PR IN C IP L E S IN „L A B O R E M EX ER C E N S" ₇₁ re la tio n to so c ie ty or a sm aller co m m u nity an d th e rig h ts of th e la tte r in re la tio n to a b ig ger com m un ity (principles of subsidization, su p re m a cy of a n individ u al, p erso n alism , h u m an rig h ts, th e rig h ts of sm aller com m unities, freedom , tru th ; o th ers em ph asize society , its rig h ts in re la tio n to a sm aller com m unity (principles of com m on good, th e rig h ts of a com m unity to w a rd s an in d ivid ual, th e rig h ts of bigger com m unities); still o th ers a c c e n tu a te b o th th e good of an in d iv id u al and com m on good (principles of so lid a rity , ju stice, e q u a lity , love, d ialo q u e, com prom ise, dem ocracy). T his list m ay be incom plete. W h a t is of p rim a ry im p o rtan ce h e re is to p re se n t a c e rta in sy ste m of so cial p rin cip les b ased on b asic so cial p rin cip les tre a te d as p rin c ip le s of ex isten ce, a c tiv ity and n a tu ra l-le g a l p rin ­ ciples.

C on sid erin g th e se p rin cip les an d th e ir refe re n c e s on e sho uld n o tice th a t J o h n P aul II in his so cial p re a c h in g a c c e n tu a te s esp ec ially th o se p rin c ip le s w h ich a re a sso c ia te d w ith a h u m an being (dig n ity and rights) w h ich c e rta in ly re su lts from a b ro ad e r p ic tu re of m o ral in flu en ce on c o n te m p o ra ry w orld. T h e Po pe d raw s p a rtic u la r a tte n tio n to th e p rin c ip le of th e su p re m a cy of an in di­ v idual, th e p rin c ip le of h u m an «rights an d in a «broader sen se to th e p rin c ip le of subsidization. T he p rin c ip le s of com m on good, so li­ d a rity , ju stice , e q u a lity , love an d d ialo g u e a re g iv en less a tte n tio n alth o u g h th e y a re tre a te d as significan t. Let us look clo sely at th e p re a c h in g of th e p re s e n t Pope as refe rs to social p rin c ip le s on th e ex am ple of th e e n c y clic a l L aborem ex ercen s.

III. A human being and social principles

It seem s th a t in th e so cial te a c h in g of Jo h n P au l II th e p rin ­ ciple of th e su p re m a cy of a h u m an b e in g is g iv en p rio rity . In his e n c y clic a l R ed em p to r h o m inis h e em p h asizes th a t „m an is th e m ain w ay alo n g w h ich th e C h u rc h sh o u ld go in th e fulfilm ent of its m ission, he is th e m ain and b asic w a y of th e C h u rc h ''32. H e refe rs to this th o u g h t in his en cy clical Laborem e x e rc e n s a n d he adds th a t C h u rc h „thinks of m a n ” an d „b eliev es in m a n ''33. T he basis of th is tru s t in m an is his sp ecial d ig n ity an d w o rth esta b lish e d b o th in a ra tio n a l n a tu re as w e ll as in s u p e rn a tu ra l ap p o in tm en t and d estin y . -Owing to this, m an is alw a y s th e end w h e re as e v e ry o th er th in g is a m eans. T he e n c y clic a l em p h asizes m an 's s u p re ­ m ac y in re la tio n to th e w orld, to th e m atte r, to th in g s and to p ro d u c tio n 34.

31 Cf. ibid., pp. 21— 22. 32 No. 14.

33 N os. 1, 4.

T he su p re m a cy of a h u m an b ein g is c le a rly v isib le a g ain st th e b a c k g ro u n d of th e p ro ce ss of lab o u r. M an is th e lo rd of th e lan d and th is re ig n is to b e confirm ed th ro u g h lab o u r. A s th e Pope em phasizes „m an is to s u b o rd in a te th e land, to re ig n o v e r it b e c au se being «the im age of God» h e is a su b je c tiv e b ein g en ab led to act ac co rd in g to a p la n an d a p u rp o se , c ap ab le of d ecid ing u p o n him self and aim ing at realizin g h im self"35. T h a t is w h y m an gives w o rth to labour. From th e su b je c tiv e p o in t of v iew e a ch kin d of lab o u r is th e sam e sin ce it is d o n e b y m an. H e is th e ,,aim of la b o u r" 36 an d th a t is w h y h e c a n n o t be tre a te d as a m eans, w h ich is th e case in social sy stem s b a sed on m ate ria listic a n d in com p lete co ncept of m an. M an c a n n o t be d e g ra d e d b y w o rk , h e c a n n o t b e su b o rd i­ n a te d to m achine, h e m ay n o t be h arm ed a n d so on.

A s can b e in fe rre d from th e a b o v e rem a rk s, m en tio n ed ju st as exam ples, th e p rin c ip le of h u m an su p re m a cy finds g re a t ap p li­ ca tio n in econom ic sp h e re an d it c o n stitu te s th e basis for th e so ­ lu tio n s of socio-m oral c h a ra c te r. N a tu ra lly , th is p rin c ip le should not be u n d e rsto o d one-sid edly, in an in d iv id u alistic w a y b e c au se it is c o n n ected w ith a b ro a d e r co n cep t of p e rso n a listic social o rd er. T he fact th a t Pope J o h n P au l II a c c e n tu a te s it has a b e a rin g on th e w orld situ atio n , w hich po in ts to v a rio u s d a n g e rs in w hich a w o rk in g m an is.

Em phasis laid on th e p rin c ip le of h u m an su p re m a cy is d ire c tly co n n ected w ith a n o th e r p rin cip le, n am ely of h um an rig h ts, fo rm u­ late d in th e e n c y clic a l R ed em p to r h o m in is37. H ere, th e Pope deals in d e ta il w ith th is p rin c ip le and h e stre sse s th a t its v io la tio n is a n „ in explicab le sign of fight w ith m a n " 38. In Laborem e x e rc e n s th e P ope often m en tio n s h u m an rig h ts, b o th g e n e ra lly 39 an d in g re a te r d etails, e n u m e ratin g d ire c tly th e rig h ts of a w o rk e r or, in a b ro a d e r w ay , th e rig h ts of w o rk in g class. M o reo v er, he w an ts th e s e rig h ts to b e abided b y . H e re are th e follow ing rights: th e rig h t to fair w ag es not o n ly on th e lev e l of m inim um e x iste n ce b u t th e o ne w hich p ro te c ts a w o rk e r an d his fam ily40; th e rig h t to be p ro te c te d a g a in st ex p lo itatio n . T his rig h t en su es am ong o th ers from su ch e lem en ts of ex p lo ita tio n as lac k of w o rk sa fe ty an d th e conditions oi h e a lth an d life of th e w o rk e rs an d th e ir fam ilies41. O th e r rig h ts com prise th e rig h t to jo in t o w n ersh ip of m eans of p rod u ctio n , to p a rtic ip a tio n in th e m an a g e m e n t an d incom es of an in stitu tio n 42;

35 Ibid., N os. 6 and 4. 33 Ibid., N o. 6.

37 Enc. Redem ptor hominis No. 17. 38 Ibid. N o. 17.

39 Enc. L.e., N os. 11, 14. 49 Ibid., N os. 8, 15, 18. « Ibid., N o. 11. 42 Ibid., N o. 14.

SOCIAÎT P R IN C IP L E S IN , , LA B O R EM E X E R C E N S " ₇₃ th e rig h t to form tra d e un io n s an d th e rig h t to s trik e 43; th e rig h t to th e em p lo y m en t of all c a p ab le su b jects, am ong o th ers y o u th and in te lig e n tsia 44. T he e n c y clic a l also d eals w ith specific rig h ts of c e rta in g ro u p s an d so cial c a te g o rie s lik e farm ers45, d isa b le d p e o p le 46, im m ig ran ts47. T he c a ta lo g u e of w o rk e rs' rig h ts p re s e n te d h e re is in te re stin g on acco u n t of its w id e ran g e. It is th e first sp ecificatio n of w o rk e rs ' rig h ts in social tea c h in g s of th e C hurch. T h e refo re, th e P ope n ot o n ly p re a c h e s th e p rin c ip le of h u m an rig h ts b u t p o in ts to its ap p lic atio n in th e sp h e re of h u m an lab ou r, as w ell.

T h e e n c y clic a l d e v o te s m u ch p lace to th e p rin c ip le of su b si­ d ization bo th in re la tio n to a h u m an b ein g an d in re la tio n to v a rio u s com m unities. T he m om ent w e tr e a t th e p rin c ip le of su b sidization as a p rin c ip le of p erso n alism b ro a d ly u n d e rsto o d , w e sh ou ld tre a t th e tw o p rin c ip le s d e scrib ed ab o v e as its in te g ra l com ponents. O ne sh o u ld be p ro p e rly in te rp re te d a fte r all. Pius XII for in stan ce, w h ile m an being w h e re as th e p rin c ip le itself sh o u ld be ex p ia ted on on th e p la n e of „in te rm e d ia te s tru c tu re s ". A s for th e s e su p p le m e n ta ry rem ark s, one can co m e acro ss an a b b re v ia te d form ula of th e p rin ­ ciple of su b sid izatio n in so cial do cu m en ts of th e C h urch , w h ich should be p ro p e rly in te rp re te d a fte r all. Pius X II for in sta n c e w h ile re fe rrin g th e p rin c ip le of su b sid izatio n to th e sta te , say s: „the s ta te for citizens an d n o t citizens for th e s ta te " 48. T h e re a re m an y sim ilar form ule. In th e en cy clical d e a lt w ith h ere, th e Pope w rites: „la­ b o u r is for m an an d n o t m an for la b o u r" 49. This does no t m ean th a t e v e ry th in g is for m an w ith o u t his co n trib u tio n to th e c re a tio n of com m on good. It sh o u ld b e u n d e rsto o d in su ch a w a y th a t „in th e last a n a ly sis" e v e ry th in g is for m an, th a t is th e s ta te for citizens, w o rk for m an, etc. b e c au se m an is th e en d of all social form ations, th in g s, m a tte r, w orld. O n e rea d s in L aborem exercens: „The u ltim a te end of a n y w o rk d one b y m an... is th e m an h im self"50. W h a t is m ea n t h e re is an a c tiv ity w ich m an is th e su b je c t of, a w o rk in g m an.

T his e n c y clic a l also d raw s a tte n tio n to th e n eed of d e v elo p in g in itia tiv e on v a rio u s sta g e s of d e v elo p m en t an d of m an 's rea liz a tio n of him self, e sp ec ially in th e s p h e re of econom ic life51, w h ich is c o n n ected w ith his su b je c tiv ity . S u bsidization has tw o asp ects h e re : n e g a tiv e a n d p o sitiv e ones. T h e fo rm er consists in a situ a tio n w h en so cial org anism s do n o t d e p riv e in d iv id u als of p o ssib ilities

43 Ibid., N o 20. 44 Ibid., N o. 18. 43 Ibid., No. 21. 46 Ibid., No. 22. « Ibid., N o. 23.

48 "Civitas propter c iv e s, non c iv es propter civitatem " ( P i u s XII: sp eech dated Sept. 11, 1956. In: A A S (1956, p. 679).

49 fine. L.e., N o. 6. 39 Ibid., No. 6. 54 Ibid., No. 18.

of activ ity . T he la tte r co n sists in su p p lem en tin g and co -o rd in atin g th e ir a c tiv ity w ith in th e fram ew o rk of com m on good of com m unity o r society.

O ne of th e m ost im p o rta n t th in g s in L aborem e x e rc e n s is a tte n tio n d ra w n to so -called „ in term ed iate o rg an ism s1'52, w h ich

R ed em p to r h o m in is n eg lected . As it is know n, re c o n stru c tio n of

in te rm e d ia te stru c tu re s in c o n te m p o ra ry tim es w as one of th e basic p o s tu la te s in so cial tea c h in g s of th e C h u rch . T h ese s tru c tu re s a re u n d e rsto o d as sm aller o r b ig g er com m unities ap p e arin g on th e le v e l b e tw e en an in d iv id u al an d th e state. H ere, n o t on ly so-called ,,free com m unities" a re m ean t b u t first of all reg io n a l and p ro ­ fessio n al com m unities. W h en th e s e a re m issing, so cial life becom es „ b a rra ck s"; h u m an righ ts, his d ig n ity and w o rth a re th re a te n e d . T he e n c y clic a l Laborem e x erc e n s tre a ts th e se s tru c tu re s in a b ro a d e r m e a n in g — ,,of econom ic, social, c u ltu ral aim s" and d raw s a tte n tio n to th e ir „real a u to n o m y in re la tio n to p ublic a u th o ritie s " 53. It is a p o stu la te resu ltin g from th e p rin cip le of su b sid izatio n w h ich is u n d e rs to o d by re p re s e n ta tiv e s of social tea c h in g s of th e C h u rch in th e follow ing w ay: „so ciety sh o u ld d ev elo p its a c tiv ity as far a s it is p o ssib le w h e re as th e s ta te as far as it is n e c e s s a ry " 54.

T he p rin cip les d e a lt w ith a b o v e p o in t to th e d ire c tio n of a c tiv ity in so cial life, n am ely to w a rd s m an. N a tu ra lly , a n assu m p­ tio n is m ad e th a t in d iv id u als c o n trib u te to th e d e v e lo p m en t of th e com m on good of a com m unity w h e re as sm aller com m unities con­ trib u te to th e com m on good of la rg e r com m unities. A t th is p o in t o n e sho u ld d ire c t o n e ’s a tte n tio n to a n o th e r o rie n ta tio n n am ely com m on good.

IV. Common good and social principles

As w as p o in te d out b efore, th e o th e r sid e of so cial life, th e ­ re fo re of th e sam e social re a lity , is com m on good and th e prin cip le of com m on good co n n ected w ith it. T he e n c y clic a l M ater et M a­ g istra defines com m on good as a com plex of social condition s w h ic h allow in d iv id u als to rea liz e th e ir p e rso n a l v a lu e s 55. C om m on g o o d u n d e rsto o d in su c h a w a y is n o t o n ly of in stitu tio n a l c h a ra c te r in th e se n se of co n d itio n s an d m echanism s in s e rv ic e to th e p a rti­ c ip a n ts of social life. It has sp iritu a l c h a ra c te r, as w ell, in th e sen se

52 Ibid., No. 14. “ Ibid., N o. 14.

54 „So v ie l G esellschaft als m öglich, so v ie l Staat als notw endig" (J. M e s ­ s n e r : Das Naturrecht. Handbuch der G esellschaltsethik , S ta atsethik und W irt-

sch altseth ik. 4th ed. Innsbruck-W ien 1960 p. 260), or: „So w en ig Staat w ie m ö­

g lich , so v ie l Staat w ie n ötig (A. R a u s c h e r : Personalität, S olida:ität, Sub­

sidiarität, ibid., p. 40).

S O C IA L P R IN C IPLE S IN ,, LA B O R EM EX ER C E N S" ₇₅ th a t it is rea liz e d w ith in th e s e v e ry p a rticip a n s. As. A. R ausch er w rites, th is co n stitu te s a fu n ctio n al an d a n c illa ry v a lu e 56.

H o w ever, th e n e c e ssa ry co n d itio n to rea liz e com on good is g en u in e c o n trib u tio n o n th e p a rt of all elem en ts: th e co n trib u tio n of indiv id u als to th e com m on good of a com m unity; th e co n trib u tio n of sm aller com m unities to th e com m on good of la rg e r com m unities. T his is w h a t th e p rin c ip le of com m on good dem and for th e benefit of com m on good. This p rin c ip le d efines rig h ts ,,from th e to p" and d u ties ,,from b e lo w ” , i.e. from in div id u als an d from v a rio u s kinds of com m unities to w a rd s u n iw e rsa ł co m m u n ity w h o se aim is b on u m

fam iliae hum anae.

T h e e n c y clic a l Laborem e x erc e n s does no t m en tio n th e p rin ­ ciple of com m on good ex p licitely . H o w ev er, it often m en tio n s th e req u irem e n ts of com m on goo d 57, th e n e e d of co -o p e ra tio n b e tw e en ind iv id u als an d so cial g ro u ps for com m on goo d58 an d th e n e c essity to m u ltip ly com m on go o d 59. T his p o in ts to th e fact th a t at least im p licitely it re fe rs to th e p rin c ip le of com m on good.

It is c h a ra c te ris tic th a t in a c co rd a n ce w ith th e p rin cip le of com m on good th e Po pe opposes to g ro u p o r class egoism th a t leads to o ne-sided in te rp re ta tio n of com m on goo d 60. It sh o u ld be th e „just com m on g o o d ''61 sin ce in th e last a n a ly sis it consists in the re sp e c t for h um an rig h ts 62. A g a in st th is b a c k g ro u n d th e d istin ctio n b etw e en „ n atio n alizatio n " and „ so cializatio n ” is of in te rest. T he form er con sists in th e ta k in g o v e r of th e m eans of p ro d u ctio n by th e s ta te an d c o n se q u e n tly in g iv in g p re fe re n c e to a c e rta in g roup of p e o p le w ho co n sid er th em se lv e s to be th e o n ly d isp a tc h ers of th o se m ean s ju st b e c au se of th e fact th a t th e s e p eo p le a re in pow er. This is an e x p re ssio n of a c e rta in k in d of g ro up egoism . T h a t is w h y th e Pop e em phasizes th a t it is n o t e q u iv a le n t w ith „sociali­ zation". T h e la tte r ta k e s p lac e o n ly w h en „the s u b je c tiv ity of so­ c ie ty is se c u re d th a t is w h en e v e ry b o d y — on th e basis of his w o rk — m ay con sid er him self th e o w n er of a g re a t w o rk sh o p w h ere h e w o rk s w ith o th e rs 63. It is „socializatio n " w h ich c re a te s p ro ­ p e r co n d itio n s for resp o n sib le co -o p eratio n for th e b en efit of com ­ m on good. T h e idea co n cern s v ario u s „ in term ed iate organism s" of econom ic c h a ra c te r w h ich a c co rd in g to th e P op e sho uld be g ra n te d a u to n o m y b u t w h ich sho u ld be „su b o rd in ated to com m on good" at th e sam e tim e 64.

56 Personalität, Solidarität, Subsidiarität, ibid., p. 31. 57 Enc. L.e., N o. 20. 58 Ibid., N o. 14. 88 Ibid., N o. 20. 60 Ibid., N o. 20. 81 Ibid., N o. 20. 87 Pacem in terris, N o. 60. 83 Enc. L.e., N o. 14. M Ibid., No. 10.

T he p rin cip le of com m on good is c o n n ected w ith th e pro b lem of „ sp iritu a lity of la b o u r”. This esp ec ially re fe rs to th e se m om ents w hich co n c ern a d a p ta tio n to th e w o rk in fam ily, in o n e 's p ro ­ fession a n d in so c ie ty (nation)65. It is difficult to sp e a k a b o u t th e d e v e lo p m en t of com m on good of th e w h o le so c ie ty w ith o u t ex p ert, solid an d resp o n sib le w o rk . T h e refo re, th e re is an o p en q u e stio n of w o rk in g o u t p ro p e r c u ltu re of lab o u r or — to p u t it b e tte r — m o ra lity of h u m an labour.

T he p rin c ip le of com m on good is an im p o rta n t fu n d am e n ta l of social life, esp ec ially a g a in st th e b a c k g ro u n d of o th e r prin cip les w hich a re g iv en m o re em phasis an d of on e-sid ed in te rp re ta tio n of com m on good. T he p o stu la te s en su in g from th is p rin c ip le p ro te c t com m on good, w h ich is after all th e sin e qu a n on of th e re a liz a tio n

of h u m an rights.

V. Solidarity and social principles

T he p rin c ip le of so lid a rity , tre a te d b y som e re p re s e n ta tiv e s of C atholic social scie n c e as th e m ost im p o rta n t social prin ciple, is of tw o-fold c h a ra c te r in th e en cy clical Laborem exercen s.

F irstly , so lid a rity m ean s jo in t a a c tiv ity in a sim ilar situ a tio n in o rd e r to o v erco m e „an o m aly ", in ju stic e and harm . S o lid arity u n d e rsto o d in su ch a w a y to o k p lac e in th e in itial p e rio d of th e ind us­ tria l d e v e lo p m en t an d of th e c re a tio n of p ro le ta ria t, w h ic h re su lte d in th e „w o rk m an 's p ro b le m ” also defined as th e „ p ro le ta ria n p ro b ­ lem "66. T h e P o pe w rite s th a t th is v e ry p ro b le m „becam e th e so u rc e of rig h t social reactio n , it d e liv e re d g re a t sp u rt am ong w o rk in g clas­ ses and first of all am ong in d u stria l w o rk e rs " 67 T his „sp u rt of so ­ lid a rity " m ea n t a call to a jo in t a c tiv ity in o rd e r to ch an g e w o rk in g conditions, to p ro te c t th e w o rk e rs a g a in st ex p lo ita tio n , in ju stice and h a rm w hich called for v e n g e a n c e " 68. In sh o rt, it w as a call to fight for w o rk m en 's rig h ts. T h e situ a tio n h as ch an g ed sin ce th a t tim e. T h e re e n su ed g re a te r class co n scio u sn ess, d istin ct „fronts" of s o lid a rity w e re c re a te d su ch as tra d e un io ns and o th e r social system s w h o se aim w as to act for th e b en efit of w o rk in g classes. N e v e rth e le ss, th e P ope w rite s: „O ne sh o u ld still ask th e q u estio n c o n c ern in g th e su b je c t of lab o u r an d th e co n d itio n s of th e ex i­ s te n c e " 69. O ne sh ould p a y a tte n tio n to still p re s e n t p a u p e riza tio n

and p ro le ta ria tiz a tio n if n o t of w h o le so cieties th e n of at lea st c e rta in classes and social c ateg o ries. W e still n eed th e „ so lid arity

« Ibid., No. 8. «« Ibid., N o. 8. « Ibid., N o. 8.

68 Ibid., N o. 8. The e n c y clica l quotes the Bible here (Deut. 24, 15; Jas. 5, 4;

Gen. 4, 10).

S O C IA L PR IN C IP L E S IN „L A B O R E M E X E R C E N S " ₇₇ of w o rk in g p e o p le " as w ell as „so lid a rity w ith th e w o rk in g p e o p le "79. From th e so ciolo g ical p o in t of v iew , th e p h e n o m e n o n of so lid a ­ rity m ay be tre a te d as an a tte m p t to ov erco m e anom y. T he te rm „anom y" w as in tro d u c e d to so cio lo g y b y E. D u rk heim an d ex p an d ed b y R. K. M e rto n an d T. P arsons. A n o m y o ccu rs on th e le v e l of c u ltu ­ r e a n d so cial s tru c tu re 71. T h e fo rm er co n cers th e th r e a t or e v e n crisis of v a lu e s, w h e re a s th e la tte r refe rs to th e lack of social u n ity a n d sta b ility . T h e w a y o u t of an o m y is p o ssib le w h en n e w v a lu e s a p p e a r w h ich w o uld be so cially „co n tag io u s" as w ell as n ew social bonds b ased on th e s e v e ry v alu es. T h e refo re, so lid a rity u n d e rsto o d as a so cial fac t th e P o p e sp e ak s ab o u t m ean s a se a rc h for c o n se n ­ sus (w ith c e rta in com prom ises) a n d th e c re a tio n of a u th e n tic to ­ g e th e rn ess.

A n o th e r m ea n in g of s o lid a rity is b ro a d e r an d m o re adeq uate. It jo in s b o th „ex trem ities" of social life, n am ely an in d iv id u al and com m on good or — to p u t it o th erw ise — tw o a sp ects of th e sam e social re a lity , i.e. „from to p to bo tto m " an d „from bottom to top". C o n se q u e n tly , s o lid a rity m ean s b o th to ta l c a re ab o u t th e p ro te c tio n of an in d iv id u al an d h is rig h ts as w ell as com m on good an d th e righ ts of so ciety . T he p rin c ip le of so lid a rity u n d e rsto o d in such a w ay co n trib u te s to th e c re a tio n of th e p ro p e r h u m an e so c ia l o rd er.

T he e n c y clic a l L a b o iem e x e rc e n s often m en tio n s th is prin cip le b e c au se it aim s at finding out th e basis of e v e ry th in g w hich u n ites p e o p le a n d com m u n ities for th e com m on good of all peo ple. A nd so for ex am p le th e Po p e stre sse s th e n eed for „social m o ra l o rd e r" 72 w h ich w o u ld g u a ra n te e h u m an rig h ts, esp ec ially th e rig h ts of th e w o rk e rs, th e rig h t of „in te rm e d ia te s tru c tu re s " a n d w h e re th e com m on good of so c ie ty w ou ld be se cu re d at th e sam e tim e. The Po pe calls o n p u blic a u th o ritie s, so cial an d in te rn a tio n a l o rg a n i­ zatio n s to se c u re th is ord er. T he p rin c ip le of s o lid a rity in p a rtic u la r finds ap p lic atio n on in te rn a tio n a l level. H ere, th e P ope po in ts to th e fact of m u tu a l d e p e n d en c e of p a rtic u la r so cieties and s ta te s on th e one h an d , and on th e o th er to th e n e c e ssity of in te rn a tio n a l co- -o p era tio n b e tw e en th e s e in o rd er to o v erco m e in eq u a lity and in ju stic e as w ell as to se c u re u n iv e rs a l an d p ro p o rtio n a l p ro g re ss73.

T he p rin c ip le of so lid a rity is clo sely co n n ected w ith oth ers w h ich a re e n u m e ra te d in th e e n c y clic a l Laborem e x erc e n s, n am ely th e p rin c ip le of e q u a lity in th e se n se of a q u al d ig n ity and h u m an rig h ts, th e p rin c ip le of ju stice , lo v e and dialogue. O u t of th ese, th e P op e m o st fre q u e n tly em phasizes th e p rin c ip le of ju stice . H e

7° Ibid., N o. 8.

71 Cf. R. K. M e r o n : Social T h e o ry and Social Structure. N e w York 1957 p. 162.

72 Enc. L.e., No. 17. « Ibid., N os. 17, 18.

sp eak s ab o u t „ju stice an d p e a c e ”74, fair d e v elo p m en t „in a m o re u n iv e rsa l d im en sio n ”75 an d ab o u t „ju st so cial sy ste m ”76. J u stic e is a m an y -sid ed p ro b lem b u t a v e ry im p o rta n t one o n acco u n t of th e h ig h est e a rth ly v a lu e n a m e ly p eace. It co n stitu te s th e „ c o re ” of c o n ­ te m p o ra ry so cial issue.

S o lid arity as a fact an d as a p rin c ip le is an im p o rta n t elem ent of th e e n cy clical Laborem exercen s. It is c h a ra c te ristic th a t w h ile p o in tin g to th e n eed of s o lid a rity on th e lev e l of th e s ta te or of g e n e ra l h u m an to g e th e rn e ss, th e Pope alw ay s h as m an and his rig h ts in m ind. It re su lts from th e fact th a t in J o h n P a u l's II social tea c h in g m an is th e p o in t from w h ich all m an ifestatio n s of social life s ta rt an d at w h ich th e y a rriv e.

T he ab o v e an aly sis of so cial p rin c ip le s in so c ia l teach in g s of th e C h u rc h w ith p a rtic u la r a tte n tio n p a id to th e e n c y clic a l La­

borem ex erc e n s, is n o t com plete. It is ju st an a tte m p t to sy stem atize

social prin cip les w h ich n o w a d a y s c o n stitu e th e b asis of social e d u c atio n of C atholics. As it tu rn e d out, a v e ry im p o rta n t th in g is to u n d e rs ta n d so cial p rin c ip le an d to find c rite ria w hich w ould allo w to bu ild u p a sy ste m of t h e s e . p rin cip les. T his ta s k m ay be re g a rd e d as fulfiled at lea st in th e se n se th a t in b ro ac h e d a te rs e discussion. T h a t is w h y an d it w a s p ossib le to d e te rm in e w hich p rin c ip le s a re b asic and w h ich p rin c ip le s a re re la te d to th o se co n sid ered as b asic an d th e n to a n a ly z e th e s e p rin cip les as th e y a p p e ar in Laborem ex erc e n s. Still, this a n a ly sis is n o t com plete. W h at w as m ean t h e re w as to sh o w th e so cial p rin c ip le s p rese n ted by th e Pope, w h e n h e ta u g h t ab o u t p e rso n a listic social system .

Sum m ing th is up, o n e sh o u ld em ph asize o n ce ag a in th a t in th e sy stem of so cial p rin c ip le s ex p o sed in so cial tea c h in g s of th e C hurch, on e finds o rie n ta tio n to w a rd s a h u m an b ein g on th e one h an d, an d o rie n ta tio n to w a rd s com m on good on th e oth er. Both of th e s e re a litie s re q u ire v a lu a tio n in o rd e r to A V O ID going in to ex trem es. T his m ak es up a p o ssib ility of th e th ird o rie n ta tio n n a ­ m ely so lid a rity . W ith in th e fra m ew o rk of th e s e th re e o rie n tatio n s one can fo rm u late v a rio u s so cial p rin c ip le s — g e n e ra l as w ell as detailed, a p p licatio n al. R eg ard less of th e d ire c tio n of a c tiv ity , all th e se p rin c ip le s c o n trib u te to th e c re a tio n of p e rso n a listic , hum anist ju st social o rd e r (system ).

« Ibid., N os. 2, 18. 75 Ibid., N o. 2. 76 Ibid., 19, 21.