Social Justice and Subsidiarity : Luigi Taparelli and the Origins of Modern Catholic Social Thought

Luigi Taparelli, SJ, 1793-1862, in his __Theoretical Treatise of Natural Right Based on Fact__, 1840-43, presents a neo-Thomistic approach to social, economic, and political sciences grounded in an integral conception of the human person as social animal but also as rational truth seeker. His conceptions of social justice and of subsidiarity are fundamental to modern Catholic social teaching (CST). His work moves away from traditionalist-conservative reaction in favor of an authentically human, moderately liberal, modernity built on the harmony of faith and reason. He zealously deconstructs laissez-faire liberal ideology and its socialist progeny in scores of articles in the Civiltà Cattolica, the journal that he co-founded in 1850. His arguments figure prominently in the Syllabus of Errors (1864) of Pius IX. Though a moderate liberal himself, his reputation as anti-liberal reactionary and defender of Papal temporal sovereignty is the chief reason why Pope Leo XIII later sought to quiet Taparelli's contribution to the foundations and pillars of modern CST that began with the restoration of Thomistic philosophy in Aeterni Patris (1879), and the "magna carta" of modern Catholic social teaching, Rerum Novarum (1891). Pius XI relies heavily on Taparelli's concept of subsidiarity in Quadragesimo Anno (1931), and sought to advance interest in Taparelli studies. However, Taparelli's eclectic philosophical orientation and writing style have been a considerable stumbling block. In this present book, Taparelli's ideas are evaluated both for their philosophical character but also in their historical context. Taparelli's theories of the just society and ordered liberty, are as timely nowadays for reasoned political and ethical discourse as ever. The book includes an appendix of translated portions of the __Theoretical Treatise of Natural Right Based on Fact__ that relate to subsidiarity. Table of Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: Social Justice Reconsidered-Taparelli’s Realist Social Science I – Taparelli and the Age of Ideology The Religious Question from the Middle Ages to the Nineteeth Century Traditionalists and Liberals in the Restorationist Period Eclecticism and Taparelli’s “Conversion” to Scholastic Philosophy II – Taparelli and the Revival of Scholastic Natural Law Reasoning The Scholastic Revival: The Appeal of Thomism Metaphysics and Epistemology Psychology and Anthropology Natural Law and Politics Metaphysics and Methodology in the Saggio teoretico Reading the Saggio Two Philosophies Dialectic of Theory and Fact Application Taparelli and the Development of Modern Catholic Social Teaching Pius IX and Civiltà Cattolica Leo XIII from Aeterni Patris to Rerum Novarum III – Social Justice and Subsidiarity The Problem of Social Justice Introduction to Subsidiarity Genealogy of the Idea of Subsidiarity Natural, Voluntary, and Dutiful Societies Authority and the Common Good Principles of Subsidiarity in Practice IV – Social Justice and Subsidiarity as Complementary Principles A Coherent Account of Social Justice Natural Right to Subjective Rights Social Justice Rightly Understood Social Justice and Subsidiarity Applied: Social Economics Compared with Naturalistic Economic Thought Principles and Objectives Scope and Limits of State Intervention Conclusion – Taparelli’s Realist Social Science Summary of the Argument The Development of Catholic Social Teaching Charts 1. Self-Interest Rightly Understood: The Three Motors of Human Will/Action 2. Subsidiarity: Sociality and Hypotactical Society 3. From Natural Right to Subjective Rights to Social Justice 4. Social Justice, Subsidiarity, and Social Economy Appendix. Luigi Taparelli, SJ, “Treatise on Subsidiarity” Bibliography Index Luigi Taparelli, SJ, 1793-1862 presented a neo-Thomistic approach to social, economic, and political sciences grounded in an integral conception of the human person as social animal but also as rational truth seeker. In this present book, Taparelli's ideas are evaluated both for their philosophical character but also in their historical context.