Quadragesimo Anno: On Reconstruction of the Social Order

by Pope Pius XI

Excerpt: For toward the close of the nineteenth century, the new kind of economic life that had arisen and the new developments of industry had gone to the point in most countries that human society was clearly becoming divided more and more into two classes. One class, very small in number, was enjoying almost all the advantages which modern inventions so abundantly provided; the other, embracing the huge multitude of working people, oppressed by wretched poverty, was vainly seeking escape from the straits wherein it stood. 4. Quite agreeable, of course, was this state of things to those who thought it in their abundant riches the result of inevitable economic laws and accordingly, as if it were for charity to veil the violation of justice which lawmakers not only tolerated but at times sanctioned, wanted the whole care of supporting the poor committed to charity alone. The workers, on the other hand, crushed by their hard lot, were barely enduring it and were refusing longer to bend their necks beneath so galling a yoke; and some of them, carried away by the heat of evil counsel, were seeking the overturn of everything, while others, whom Christian training restrained from such evil designs, stood firm in the judgment that much in this had to be wholly and speedily changed. 5. The same feeling those many Catholics, both priests and laymen, shared, whom a truly wonderful charity had long spurred on to relieve the unmerited poverty of the non-owning workers, and who could in no way convince themselves that so enormous and unjust an in equality in the distribution of this world's goods truly conforms to the designs of the all-wise Creator. 6. Those men were without question sincerely seeking an immediate remedy for this lamentable disorganization of States and a secure safeguard against worse dangers. Yet such is the weakness of even the best of human minds that, now rejected as dangerous innovators, now hindered in the good work by their very associates advocating other courses of action, and, uncertain in the face of various opinions, they were at a loss which way to turn. 7. In such a sharp conflict of mind, therefore, while the question at issue was being argued this way and that, nor always with calmness, all eyes as often before turned to the Chair of Peter, to that sacred depository of all truth whence words of salvation pour forth to all the world. And to the feet of Christ's Vicar on earth were flocking in unaccustomed numbers, men well versed in social questions, employers, and workers themselves, begging him with one voice to point out, finally, the safe road to them. 8. The wise Pontiff long weighed all this in his mind before God; he summoned the most experienced and learned to counsel; he pondered the issues carefully and from every angle. At last, admonished "by the consciousness of His Apostolic Office" lest silence on his part might be regarded as failure in his duty he decided, in virtue of the Divine Teaching Office entrusted to him, to address not only the whole Church of Christ but all mankind. 9. Therefore on the fifteenth day of May, 1891, that long awaited voice thundered forth; neither daunted by the arduousness of the problem nor weakened by age but with vigorous energy, it taught the whole human family to strike out in the social question upon new paths. 10. You know, Venerable Brethren and Beloved Children, and understand full well the wonderful teaching which has made the Encyclical, On the Condition of Workers, illustrious forever. The Supreme Pastor in this Letter, grieving that so large a portion of mankind should "live undeservedly in miserable and wretched conditions,"

Genres: Religion, Catholic, Economics, Theology, Politics, Nonfiction, Christianity

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Pope Pius XI,born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from 6 February 1922 to his death in 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929. He took as his papal motto, "Pax Christi in Regno Christi," translated "The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ."

Pius XI issued numerous encyclicals, including Quadragesimo Anno , in the 40th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's groundbreaking social encyclical Rerum Novarum, highlighting the capitalistic greed of international finance, and social justice issues, and Quas primas, establishing the feast of Christ the King. The encyclical Studiorum Ducem, promulgated 29 June 1923, was written on the occasion of the 6th centenary of the canonization of Thomas Aquinas, whose thought is acclaimed as central to Catholic philosophy and theology. The encyclical also singles out the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum as the preeminent institution for the teaching of Aquinas: "ante omnia Pontificium Collegium Angelicum, ubi Thomam tamquam domi suae habitare dixeris" (before all others the Pontifical Angelicum College, where Thomas can be said to dwell).

To establish or maintain the position of the Catholic Church, he concluded a record number of concordats, including the Reichskonkordat with Germany (Germany's betrayals of which he condemned four years later in the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge ("With Burning Anxiety")). During his pontificate, the longstanding hostility with the Italian government over the status of the papacy and the Church in Italy was successfully resolved in the Lateran Treaty of 1929. He was unable to stop the persecution of the Church and the killing of clergy in Mexico, Spain and the Soviet Union. He canonized important saints, including Thomas More, Petrus Canisius, Konrad von Parzham, Andrew Bobola and Don Bosco. He beatified and canonized Thérèse de Lisieux, for whom he held special reverence, and gave equivalent canonization to Albertus Magnus, naming him a Doctor of the Church due to the spiritual power of his writings. Pius XI created the feast of Christ the King in response to anti-clericalism. He took a strong interest in fostering the participation of lay people throughout the Catholic Church, especially in the Catholic Action movement. The end of his pontificate was dominated by speaking out against Hitler and Mussolini and defending the Catholic Church from intrusions into Catholic life and education.

He died on 10 February 1939 in the Apostolic Palace and is buried in the Papal Grotto of Saint Peter's Basilica. In the course of excavating space for his tomb, two levels of burial grounds were uncovered which revealed bones now venerated as the bones of St. Peter.

Reviews

[Michael Pecha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Completely foreign to modern conceptions of the economy and society, highly recommend!

[Alex Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reflection and exposition on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum. Pope Pius XI begins by extolling the good that has come from Rerum Novarum, then points out how people have misread, misinterpreted, or misrepresented it. Then he uses it to discuss capitalism vs socialism, political and economic structures, and the duties of the laity.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quadragesimo anno marks the fortieth anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum, which it briefly reviews and then expands upon. Whereas Leo focuses more narrowly in Rerum novarum on the spiritual and economic oppression of workers in conjunction with his defense of labor unions and other private societies, Pope Pius XI expands his scope to comment on the twin perils of individualism and collectivism, propose a more active role for the state in relation to the economy, and articulate the need for the harmonious interrelation of different classes, industries, and professions—what has come to be known as corporatism in Catholic social thought. Pius rearticulates Leo’s critique of socialism—famously, he concludes an extended discussion of socialism, which he takes pains to differentiate from communism as practiced in the Soviet Union, with the claim that “religious socialism, Christian socialism, are contradictory terms; no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist” (120). At the same time, he offers a more robust critique than Leo of free-market capitalism and stresses workers’ right to a just wage. All in all, Pius is sensitive to socialism’s critique of capitalism; he concedes that “socialism inclines toward and in a certain measure approaches the truths which Christian tradition has always held sacred” (113). His rejection of socialism is less reactionary than Leo’s and primarily focuses on its indifference toward humans’ supernatural end.

Perhaps most importantly, Quadragesimo anno explicitly articulates the principle of subsidiarity, a central element of Catholic social thought only hinted at in Rerum novarum. Pius formulates the principle as follows: “Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do” (79). Put differently, the principle of subsidiarity states that the ends and rules proper to each subsidiary community or association constitutive of civil society should be respected, and that social and political conflicts should be addressed at the level that is most conducive to their resolution. For Pius, this principle is especially important in view of “individualist” political philosophies that posit only the existence of individual citizens, on the one hand, and the state, on the other, with no mediatory communities or associations. The principle both keeps in check state power and liberates the state to execute those functions that it alone is equipped to perform. While the principle of subsidiarity has its roots in the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, it was not until Quadragesimo anno that the principle came to occupy a central place in Catholic social thought. Subsequent iterations on the principle take Pius’s formulation as their point of departure.

[Micah Jakubowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unparalleled. Better than Rerum Novarum and deserves the title as the most important work on Distributism and Third Way economics ever written.

[Jon Coutts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1931 rehash of Rerum Novarum adds the principle of subsidiarity (§79) and softens toward socialism - by then distinguishable from communism (§111-13, cf §71). It still resists liberal-capitalism, but hindsight says not strongly enough.

[Peter Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Quadragesimo Anno, Pope Pius XI poignantly reflects and builds upon the social teaching begun in Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum. It is really striking to see the decay of the economic lives of workers, even after only 40 years from Rerum Novarum. Pope Pius XI rails against (classical) liberalism's unbridled capitalism, as well as socialism on the other end of the spectrum, calling for an economic order more akin to distributism. It's left me with more questions about the Church's vision of economics than when I began, and I hope that I will gain a greater insight upon reading this work a second time.

Some choice quotes:

"Yet when the State brings private ownership into harmony with the needs of the common good, it does not commit a hostile act against private owners but rather does them a friendly service; for it thereby effectively prevents the private possession of goods, which the Author of nature in His most wise providence ordained for the support of human life, from causing intolerable evils and thus rushing to its own destruction; it does not destroy private possessions, but safeguards them; and it does not weaken private property rights, but strengthens them."

"...for there is another system also, which still embraces a huge mass of humanity, significant in numbers and importance, as for example, agriculture wherein the greater portion of mankind honorably and honestly procures its livelihood."

"If [Christians] truly wish to be heralds of the Gospel, let them above all strive to show to socialists that socialist claims, so far as they are just, are far more strongly supported by the principles of Christian faith and much more effectively promoted through the power of Christian charity."

[Marcos · Rating 3 out of 5]

No está mal, pero Rerum Novarum es mucho más potente y sofisticada. Pío XI es mucho menos cuidadoso que León XIII, aunque es normal teniendo en cuenta que se escribió en el transcurso de la Gran Depresión y la situación era desesperada. Es mucho más agresivo proponiendo la intervención del Estado y, pese a que dice que el Estado ha tomado muchas funciones que pertenecen a organismos intermedios, no hay el énfasis que pone León XIII.

[Logan Streondj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good elaboration on distributism

[Danna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Making my way through the CST encyclicals. This one was academic/lofty which was a good challenge for me. Pius XI can get savage when he needs to!!

[Ben Geiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This applies in our time very well, reminds us to keep on guard against greed and corruption in our own hearts as well as the whole economic system

[Matthew Purt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent explanation of what's wrong with the current economic system from a Catholic perspective. Pius XI starts out with an in-depth explanation of the principles of Catholic social order, their influence on economic activities, and what's wrong with both socialism and modern materialistic capitalism. This particular edition has an excellent introduction by Bishop Williamson and several helpful diagrams and outlines for understanding the encyclical.

[Emily Giuffre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written to compliment Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical Letter "Rerum Novarum", "Quadragesimo Anno" is a constitution to stand by for the working people and business owners to promote an environment that is prosperous for everyone. Again, the translation is not the most fluid or easy to understand, even for an avid reader, which is why its been given the 3 star rating.

[Alfie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given at Rome at Saint Peter's, the fifteenth day of May in the year 1931, the tenth of Our Pontificate. Pius PP. XI.