Catholic social doctrine supports both justice for workers and
the
promotion of marriage and the family; they are not separate concerns.
Two years ago, Dr. Rupert J. Ederer wrote in Inside the Vatican that while Karl Marx’s economic theory proposed inevitable class conflict, Father Heinrich Pesch, SJ’s (1854-1926) theory focused on social justice (giving what is due to others) and social charity (giving what is yours to others) as the surest means to promote the common good.
When one reads solidarity in Catholic social encyclicals, then one must remember Pesch. He argued for a solidaristic system of human work, drawing from Scripture and Church tradition. Work is not just what happens at one’s job; it encompasses the interdependence of our lives in the family, community, nation, and world. On the one hand, our individual interests, according to Pesch, could either support or detract from the common good; on the other hand, the state—while playing a valid role in society—is neither the sole judge of the common good nor the best administrator of private property. He believed that society prospers when workers and their employers organize with each other rather than against each other.
Pesch’s understanding of the moral theology of St. Thomas Aquinas was central to his use of solidarity, which is grounded in Christian neighbor love, the Beatitudes, and the Church Fathers’ social teaching. His use of solidarism rejected both the injustice of Marxist collectivism that would deny freedom, and a capitalist, self-interested individualism that could lead to greed. The upholding of justice and the self-giving in charity of solidarism remain vital to the common good. Pesch’s contribution to Catholic social teaching is useful for reflecting upon the present state of unions and the national work force.
The current situation
The United States is experiencing a jobless recovery with 10.2 million unemployed workers that account for 6.6 percent of the work force. Each month thousands of jobs are created, while at the same time thousands of new workers enter the work force; the economy, unfortunately, is creating too few jobs for the growth in the working population. Hundreds of thousands of men and women are the “discouraged unemployed”—those desiring work but no longer searching. The data reveal a true unemployment figure of 12.7 percent or more if the underemployed, marginally attached workers, and discouraged workers are included in the official national rate.
While the economy has continued to grow, one million fewer people are employed today then the early months of the Great Recession in 2008. The work force is also overwhelmingly employed in service jobs and not the more lucrative and unionized manufacturing jobs of the past—the mid-range jobs that maintain a middle class. Union membership has also shrunk. Union members make up about 11 percent of the labor force, roughly half of them are public employees, and in absolute numbers the US has fewer union members today (14.5 million) than in 1983 (17.7 million).
Although present federal labor laws and the mixed success of their enforcement have made labor organizing and worker protection a perennial challenge, even if labor law reform were to benefit organizing, it would still not prevent the loss of work and union power due to technology. From a historical perspective, Samuel Gompers, the great champion of 20th century labor, believed workers would never stop technological progress and its impact on work. We have a jobless recovery because every generation of employers learns the value of producing more by substituting automation and technology for employees, and the so-called Luddite fallacy (machines replacing workers) is proving true.
The use of automation is now increasing exponentially; e.g., supermarket chains are already experimenting with automated inventory and stocking systems just as they have automated check-out lines.
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Read more: www.catholicworldreport.com
Pesch’s understanding of the moral theology of St. Thomas Aquinas was central to his use of solidarity, which is grounded in Christian neighbor love, the Beatitudes, and the Church Fathers’ social teaching. His use of solidarism rejected both the injustice of Marxist collectivism that would deny freedom, and a capitalist, self-interested individualism that could lead to greed. The upholding of justice and the self-giving in charity of solidarism remain vital to the common good. Pesch’s contribution to Catholic social teaching is useful for reflecting upon the present state of unions and the national work force.
The current situation
The United States is experiencing a jobless recovery with 10.2 million unemployed workers that account for 6.6 percent of the work force. Each month thousands of jobs are created, while at the same time thousands of new workers enter the work force; the economy, unfortunately, is creating too few jobs for the growth in the working population. Hundreds of thousands of men and women are the “discouraged unemployed”—those desiring work but no longer searching. The data reveal a true unemployment figure of 12.7 percent or more if the underemployed, marginally attached workers, and discouraged workers are included in the official national rate.
While the economy has continued to grow, one million fewer people are employed today then the early months of the Great Recession in 2008. The work force is also overwhelmingly employed in service jobs and not the more lucrative and unionized manufacturing jobs of the past—the mid-range jobs that maintain a middle class. Union membership has also shrunk. Union members make up about 11 percent of the labor force, roughly half of them are public employees, and in absolute numbers the US has fewer union members today (14.5 million) than in 1983 (17.7 million).
Although present federal labor laws and the mixed success of their enforcement have made labor organizing and worker protection a perennial challenge, even if labor law reform were to benefit organizing, it would still not prevent the loss of work and union power due to technology. From a historical perspective, Samuel Gompers, the great champion of 20th century labor, believed workers would never stop technological progress and its impact on work. We have a jobless recovery because every generation of employers learns the value of producing more by substituting automation and technology for employees, and the so-called Luddite fallacy (machines replacing workers) is proving true.
The use of automation is now increasing exponentially; e.g., supermarket chains are already experimenting with automated inventory and stocking systems just as they have automated check-out lines.
..........................
Read more: www.catholicworldreport.com
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