The Pope and Socialism

Reading Response: Rerum Novarum: On Capital and Labor by Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo, in 1891, felt that the rising popularity of Socialist theory wouldn't be beneficial to either the upper class or the lower class, for the simple fact that in both cases, the state claims the property legally (and somewhat morally) owned by individuals. He takes a very Locke-ian view when he says that "...every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own."

I think, though, that he has a very idyllic view of human nature. He states that if a man has enough money to live on, that he'll save the rest of it and be thrifty with what he has. "Nature itself would urge him to do this." If this is so, then why is our society so riddled with debts we can never pay off? It could be that only those who make less money than they can live on would be the only ones in debt, but we know this isn't true.

Perhaps if our society were like Pope Leo's ideal world, people would be more wise with their money and more considerate of their neighbors. But our world is not like he imagined, and it has many problems. Rather than having some people maing up solutions based on pipe dreams, we need real people living in this real world coming up with real solutions to the problems we face everyday.