POPE LEO XIII’S
RERUM
NOVARUM
ON CAPITAL AND LABOR
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (the
1700s and 1800s) were a time of dramatic
change in the western world.
In Europe and the United States, numerous
scientific discoveries and applications led to new
developments in exploration, navigation,
medicine, communication, and manufacturing.
These developments led to the rise of factories,
an increase in international commerce, and the
growth of large cities with working-class
populations.
Leading thinkers were proposing new economic
and political systems, such as capitalism,
socialism, and popular democracies.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TOOK
PLACE IN GOVERNMENTS AND
ECONOMICS:
1. Kings and queens were replaced with popularly elected parliaments and
congresses.
2. Agricultural economies were replaced by manufacturing economies.
3. Guilds and craftsmen were replaced with factories employing hundreds of
people.
These changes led the Church to apply God’s eternal moral truth to these
new social challenges, resulting in the development of the social doctrine of
the Church.
1891’s
RERUM
NOVARUM
(On the Condition of
Labor)
Pope Leo XIII
The first social justice encyclical was written in
response to the Industrial Revolution.
The economies of the society shifted from a
dependence on agriculture to a dependence on
products being produced in factories.
In these new workplaces, workers were being
overworked, underpaid, and sometimes abused,
even beaten. Children were forced to work in
some factories, toiling in dangerous conditions
under cruel supervisors.
The reason for its issuing is mentioned in the
introductory part. It is the “workers’ question”,
more specifically:
1.)the condition of the working classes due to
vast advances in industrial pursuits and science;
2.) the changed relations between masters and
workmen;
3.)the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the
few and the poverty of the vast majority;
4.)the increased self-awareness of the workers
and their need for connectedness.
It is stated that the condition of the workers is
particularly worsened by the abolition of
workingmen’s guilds (and no other organization
founded to replace them), hence they have been
left to themselves and to the inhumanity of
employers.
Socialists, Pope Leo XIII
thought, stirred up the poor
man’s envy of the rich. They
wrongly contend that the
present mischievous state of
things will be set to rights by
doing away with private
property and replacing it with
the common property of all,
for which they advocate.
by transforming private into common property,
the socialists are worsening the condition of the
workers because they deprive them of the liberty
of investing their wages, and in that way prevent
them from increasing their families’ estates and
wealth.
In a further defence of private
property, it is stated that
every man has by nature the
right to possess property and
that this is, in fact, one of the
chief points of distinction
between man and “the animal
creation”.
Considering it is a most
sacred law of nature that a
father should provide for the
life and education of those
whom he has begotten, it is
natural that his children
should be by him provided
with all that is needful to
enable them to keep
themselves decently from
every misfortune.
Therefore, the abolition of
private property would,
besides injustice, create upset
and disturbance in all classes
considering the door would be
thrown open to envy, to
mutual invective, and to
discord; the private incentive
for exerting the talents and
industry of the individual
would disappear. That way the
sources of wealth themselves
would run dry too.
The intent of socialists to achieve equality among
men is in vain because it is striving against
nature. Considering the wealthy and working
classes need each other unconditionally it is
necessary to create agreement between them.
Reconciliation and unity between the wealthy and
the workers is possible to achieve by reminding
each of their duties to the other, and especially
those springing forth from justice.
The encyclical prescribes the fundamental duties
of the workers and the fundamental duties of the
wealthy
The fundamental duties of the
workers are:
a.) never to injure the
property, nor to outrage the
person, of an employer;
b.) never to resort to violence
in defending their own cause,
nor to engage in riot or
disorder;
c.)and, finally, to have nothing
to do with men of evil
principles who cleverly excite
foolish hopes and
overpromise.
The fundamental duties of the
wealthy owner and the master:
a.) not to treat their workers as their
slaves;
b.) to respect their dignity as human
beings;
c.) not to misuse men as though
they were things in the pursuit of
gain, or to value them solely for the
worth of their physical powers;
d.) to keep in mind the workers’
religion and the good of their souls
and to see that the workers have
time for their religious duties;
e.) to not expose the workers to
corrupting influences and
incitements to sin and not lead
them away to neglect their homes
and families, or to squander their
earnings;
f.) to never tax their workers beyond
their strength, or employ them in
work unsuited to their sex and age.
The greatest duty of the
employer is to give everyone
what is just, i.e. to determine
the wage to a just measure,
which depends on many
circumstances. If a workman’s
wages be sufficient to enable
him comfortably to support
himself and his family, he will
find it easy, if he be a sensible
man, to practice thrift.
In order to achieve agreement
and better relations between
the social classes, the
encyclical calls for, in
accordance to the Church’s
teachings, a distribution of the
wealth with others, i.e. for
helping the indigent, however,
not in a pursuit of justice but
“of Christian charity, the
fulfilment of which cannot be
sought in human law”.
On the other hand, it is also
emphasized that poverty is no
disgrace, that there is nothing
to be ashamed of in earning
their bread by labour, as well
as that all that can be
resolved through Christian
brotherhood.
Besides the Church, the state
plays a crucial role as well,
particularly through
intervention in disputes
between the workers and the
employers. The state must
protect all citizens because
“the landless workers are
citizens by nature the same as
the rich” it would, therefore,
be irrational to provide for one
portion of the citizens and
neglect another
Some areas in which the state
must intervene in particular
are pointed out. They are: the
safeguarding of private
property, the defence of
labour, and the education for
thrift.
Explaining the section on the
defence of labour, Pope Leo
XIII points out that excessively
long hard labour and
insufficient wages are
frequently the cause for
workers voluntarily ceasing
work so it is most helpful if
the authorities, through the
application of law, forestall
and prevent evil from flaring
up by removing the causes
and reasons.
However, the Pope is explicitly against strikes
because such work stoppages are injurious not
only for the employers and workers alike, but to
trade and to the general interests of the public as
well; moreover, they are customarily not without
violence and disorder.
In reference to the working
conditions, it is emphasized
that they must be such that
no man may with impunity
outrage the human dignity.
For the duration of holy days,
the work should cease and
the workers be saved from
their dependence on men of
greed who maliciously and
immoderately use human
beings and things for personal
gain
So much labour should not be
demanded that from
excessive exertion the spirit
wanes and the body
succumbs to exhaustion. Care
should be taken that daily
labour is not protracted over
longer hours than strength
admits.
Work which is suitable for a
strong and grown man cannot
rightly be required from a
woman or a child and in
regard to children, care should
be taken not to let them enter
workshops until their bodies,
minds, and spirits are
sufficiently developed.
The right to association, including establishing
workers’ and employers’ associations, the Pope
considers a natural right of man. Therefore, it is
not the office of the state to forbid their
existence, but to assist in the realization of the
right to association.
Workers’ associations should be so organised and
governed as to furnish the best and most suitable
means for attaining the proposed purpose, which
consists of enabling each individual member to
derive utmost benefits for the body, soul, and
family.
Near the very end of the encyclical, it is emphasised that
it is important for the state that the ongoing fight for the
condition of the workers is led with determination and
astuteness. Therefore, Christian workers are called to be
connected by associations and, if they have wise leaders,
follow on the path which was trodden by their fathers and
ancestors before them with so much advantage to
themselves and the common wealth.
In the end, Pope Leo XIII
concludes that hands should
be put to work straightway,
lest the evil become even
greater, clearly aware of the
gravity of the moment. To that
end, state authorities should
avail themselves of the laws
and regulations, and the
employers and workers should
be mindful of their duties.
