Duties and Responsibilities of a State— Part 3 of a 4-part series

Rev. Msgr. Gerald E. Twaddell, D.Phil., KCHS

Contributor

After laying out the duties and responsibilities of employers and employees to one another, Pope Leo XIII shifted his attention to the proper role of the State in meeting the challenges he had identified at the beginning of “Rerum Novarum.”

First, the pope makes explicit just what kind of entity he is addressing. A State is a government whose institutions conform with right reason and natural law. Its first duty is to ensure that the laws, the institutions, the general character and administration of the commonwealth promote public well-being and private prosperity. A State thrives as a result of moral rule, well-regulated family life, respect for religion and justice, moderate and fair public taxes, progress in the arts and trades and abundant production of the land. In arranging everything in this way every class will benefit and the interests of the poor will be advanced.

In brief, the state must serve the common good. To the extent that the general laws protect the working class, the less need there will be for special means to address them. (§ 32)

A further consideration is that the State must further the interests of all. The working classes are as truly citizens as the rich, and naturally constitute the majority of the members of the commonwealth. Hence, “Among the many and grave duties of rulers who would do their best for the people, the first and chief is to act with strict justice — with that justice which is called distributive — toward each and every class alike.” (§ 33)

Though all citizens contribute to the common good, they do so in diverse ways: some govern, others defend the commonwealth, still others exercise a variety of trades and professions. But since the most important good that a society can possess is virtue, the body politic needs to “to see to the provision of those material and external helps ‘the use of which is necessary to virtuous action.’”

Such goods are principally the product of those whose labor allows States to grow rich. Justice therefore calls for the State to watch out for the interests of those who labor so that “they may find their life less hard and more endurable.” This will serve the advantage of the entire commonwealth. (§ 34)

The State must not subjugate either individuals or families in their freedom of action so long as these are consistent with the pursuit of the common good. The safety of the commonwealth is the central concern of the rulers, and never their own advantage. Their power to rule, after all, comes from God, whom they should imitate in exercising it, that is with a fatherly solicitude, guiding the whole and upholding all its members. (§ 35)

Consequently, should the general interest or some class suffer, the public authority must intervene for the good of the whole community as much as for the protection of those who are enduring some harm. When such troubles arise, the authorities must maintain peace and good order in a manner consistent with divine and natural law.

The pope listed and offered examples of a number of areas to attend to: the discipline of family life, duties of religion, exacting standards of personal and public morality, sacredness of justice, assurance that no one be harmed with impunity. To these he added the evils of employers unjustly burdening their employees or degrading them “with conditions repugnant to their dignity as human beings,” and putting health at risk by excessive labor, or by work unsuited to the worker’s age or sex. In all these matters, “there can be no question but that, within certain limits, it would be right to invoke the aid and authority of the law,” provided the law does not reach beyond what is necessary to remedy the evil. (§ 36)

Respect for Rights

The Public authority has a duty to prevent and to punish injury to the rights of every individual, and particularly those of the poor and badly off. The wealthy have resources to shield themselves from harm so that they have less need of assistance from the State. The poor, though, have no such resources and stand in need of State assistance. Wage earners, then, who belong to the mass of the needy should receive special care and protection from the government. (§ 37)

However, public authority has a duty to provide legal protection for private property, especially when passionate greed crosses the line of duty. For though it is just for all to strive to better their condition, “neither justice nor the common good allows any individual to seize upon that which belongs to another.” The vast majority of workers prefer to improve their lot by honest labor; nevertheless, there are many who are eager for revolution who would like to incite others to the violent takeover of lawfully owned property. The authority of the law must restrain such firebrands. (§ 38)

This is not to say that worker strikes are not justified by excessive hours of labor, or exceedingly hard work or insufficient wages. Such situations need to be prevented by “public remedial measures” because of the impact of strikes on both workers and employers, on trade and on the general public. “The laws should forestall and prevent such troubles from arising; they should lend their influence and authority to the removal in good time of the causes which lead to conflicts between employers and employed.” (§ 39)

The final article of this series will present Pope Leo XIII’s teachings on the implications of all these principles for the responsibility of the State to protect the interests of workers.