Relying on Government

Confidence in government emerges as a powerful theme in “Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy,” the new draft pastoral letter of the American Catholic bishops. The letter’s remarkable endorsement of government solutions to economic problems provides the bishops’ arguments with both philosophical coherence and political applications of their moral concerns about poverty and unemployment.

Today’s conservatives and Republicans are skeptical and pessimistic about further action by the federal government in the nation’s economy; they will find no support at all in the bishops’ message. Liberals and Democrats are pragmatic and optimistic about new governmental initiatives; they will find that the bishops agree with their practical prescriptions but go far beyond them on the level of principle.

As a partisan document, the draft letter is overwhelmingly on the side of the Democratic party. As a statement of political principles, the letter moves to the left of the Democratic party, to a position of philosophical endorsement of government as the primary actor of our economic future.

The bishops’ policy recommendations imply significantly more government-economic activity than is now in place. To reduce unemployment from its current 6-7 percent to 3-4 percent, the letter recommends “increased support by the government for direct job-creation programs,” “expansion of apprenticeship and job-training programs,” and “expansion of job-placement services on both the local and national level.” To combat poverty, the letter proposes that the federal government “eliminate or offset the payment of taxes by the poor,” increase “subsidies for day care,” and establish a “national minimum-benefit level for public-assistance programs.” Such is the bishops’ confidence in these measures that they see no need to discuss their costs or possible undesirable side effects.

But on the philosophical level—called “ethical norms for economic life” in the letter—the bishops’ trust in the government is still more strongly asserted. For example, when the bishops tell their followers to help “the poor, hungry and homeless people in our midst,” they state their mandate this way: “all persons must be prepared to come to the aid of those who are deprived, primarily through a system of taxation.” Note that government action—here called “taxation”—is here said to be our primary obligation.

Another example of this philosophical preference for government appears in the letter’s discussion of the church’s own economic responsibilities. Despite their acknowledgment that “the church has a special call to be a servant of the poor,” the bishops conclude:

“We do not accept the view that private agencies such as the church are the primary agents of care for those who are hurting in our country. All citizens bear this responsibility, and it should be carried out through their government.”

The founders of this country were wary of government power. The Constitution they wrote set up a federal government of limited powers, and the Bill of Rights they attached guaranteed certain rights by restricting government all the more. The American bishops, however, urge us to add “economic rights” to the “civil and political rights” of the Constitution not by restructuring government but by increasing its authority.

What is extraordinary about the confidence in government expressed by the bishops is that they claim to be recommending an “experiment in economic democracy” that will parallel the founding of the nation. Despite their references to the founders, the bishops see no need to advert to the worry over government power so common among those founders. The bishops’ trust in government is so complete that government’s future altruism can be taken for granted.

What might be the source of the bishops’ confidence in government? It cannot come from traditional American values, for Americans have always treated government authority with caution and even suspicion. It cannot come from the bishops’ practical political experience, for they have virtually none. Nor can the bishops’ confidence in government come from satisfaction with past government efforts to eliminate poverty and unemployment, for those programs were by no means without government-induced flaws, some major.

Possibly the bishops are influenced by their attachment to the tradition of Catholic social teaching, which developed largely in Europe, where strong central governments were prevalent. The Catholic church itself is led by a hierarchy that believes in solving problems from the top down, by the exercise of central authority. Yet despite these possibilities, the source of the bishops’ trust in government remains elusive.

The new pastoral letter is only a draft. Only five bishops had a direct hand in composing it. Within the next year, many other bishops—and lay Catholics also—will need to consider whether such a great confidence in government is justified, whatever its source.

Author

  • Robert Spaeth

    Robert L. Spaeth came to Saint John’s University, Minnesota, as a visiting professor in Liberal Studies and director of Freshman Colloquium in 1977. He was appointed dean in 1979 and held that post for nine years. He resigned in 1988 to return to teaching. He died in 1994.

tagged as:

Join the Conversation

in our Telegram Chat

Or find us on
Item added to cart.
0 items - $0.00

Orthodox. Faithful. Free.

Signup to receive new Crisis articles daily

Email subscribe stack
Share to...