In 1991 Pope John Paul II wrote the encylical Centissimus Annus, in which he dealt with economic and workers’ rights themes following the collapse of Soviet Communism and the seeming triumph of capitalism as an economic system. While noting that capitalism unrestrained by moral values was a Bad Thing, he nevertheless notes its practical success. He went on to say this regarding the kind of welfare states that exist in much of the developed world, and particularly in Europe:
In recent years the range of such intervention has vastly expanded, to the point of creating a new type of State, the so-called “Welfare State”. This has happened in some countries in order to respond better to many needs and demands, by remedying forms of poverty and deprivation unworthy of the human person. However, excesses and abuses, especially in recent years, have provoked very harsh criticisms of the Welfare State, dubbed the “Social Assistance State”. Malfunctions and defects in the Social Assistance State are the result of an inadequate understanding of the tasks proper to the State. Here again the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.
By intervening directly and depriving society of its responsibility, the Social Assistance State leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies, which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients, and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending. In fact, it would appear that needs are best understood and satisfied by people who are closest to them and who act as neighbours to those in need [Centissimus Annus 48].
Unfortuantely, with the exception of Britain, Europe has been slow to wean itself away from welfare state ideology. Fortunately, there are now signs that Europeans are beginning to realize that the kin of welfare state utopia they hoped to build is unsustainable and must be abandoned.
This blog entry contains some fascinating analysis.
Pope John Paul II:
Malfunctions and defects in the Social Assistance State are the result of an inadequate understanding of the tasks proper to the State. Here again the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.
George W. Bush:
But I believe one of the most effective ways our government can help those in need is to help the charities and community groups that are doing God’s work every day. That’s what I believe government ought to do. I believe government needs to stand on the side of faith-based groups, not against faith-based groups, when they come to saving lives. (Applause.)
Government can hand out money, and of course, there will be arguments whether we’re handing out enough or not. But what government can never do is put love in a person’s heart, or a sense of purpose in a person’s life. You see, in order to heal — help the lonely, it works every time when a loving soul puts their arm around and says, what can I do to help you; how can I help you in your life; what can I do to make your life better. Many are called by God to do so, and government must stand on the side of those millions of acts of mercy and kindness that take place on a daily basis.
And so the faith-based initiative that I’ve launched recognizes the need there be separation of church and state — the state should never be the church, and the church certainly should never be the state. But the state should never fear the good works of the church. (Applause.) And the truth of the matter is, there’s a culture inside government which resents and fears religious charities, and has discriminated against them. We’re changing that.
Someone needs to mention to our dear President that he needs to be more careful and subtle when he plagiarizes the economic welfare and social justice views of Pope John Paul II. Plagiarizism is wrong…
🙂
Ironically, I know hardcore Catholics who are voting for Kerry precisely because they feel Bush is being “unCatholic” in his social welfare agenda, and that it is Kerry who is really the candidate that most exemplifies Catholic social teaching. [Oh, except for abortion, but as they have pointed out to me, that’s just “one” issue of many, and they aren’t going to focus on just one issue.]
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