10. Laborem Exercens
English title: On Human Work
Encyclical of John Paul II, 1981
History teaches us that organizations of this type [unions] are an indispensable
element in social life, especially in industrialized societies.Catholic social
teaching does not see unions as reflecting only a "class"' structure, and even
less as engaged in a "class" struggle. They are indeed engaged in the struggle
for social justice, but this is a struggle for the common good, and not against
others. Its aim is social justice and not the elimination of opponents. (#20)
Human work is the key to the solution ... of the whole "social question." To
consider work is of decisive importance when trying to make life "more human."
(#3)
Yet the workers' rights cannot be doomed to be the mere result of economic
systems aimed at maximum profits. The thing that must shape the whole economy
is respect for the workers' rights within each country and all through the
world's economy. (#17)
Created in God's image, we were given the mandate to transform the earth.
By their work people share in God's creating activity....Awareness that our
work is a sharing in God's work ought to permeate even the most ordinary
daily activities.
By our labor we are unfolding the Creator's work and contributing to the
realization of God's plan on earth. The Christian message does not stop us
from building the world or make us neglect our fellow human beings. On the
contrary it binds us more firmly to do just that. (#25)
But above all we must remember the priority of labor over capital: labor is
the cause of production; capital, or the means of production, is its mere
instrument or tool. (#12)
Workers not only want fair pay, they also want to share in the responsibility
and creativity of the very work process. They want to feel that they are working
for themselves -- an awareness that is smothered in a bureaucratic system where
they only feel themselves to be "cogs" in a huge machine moved from above.(#13)
Workers not only want fair pay, they also want to share in the responsibility
and creativity of the very work process. They want to feel that they are working
for themselves -- an awareness that is smothered in a bureaucratic system where
they only feel themselves to be "cogs" in a huge machine moved from above.
The most profound motive for our work is this knowing that we share in creation.
Learning the meaning of creation in our daily lives will help us to live holier
lives. It will fill the world with the spirit of Christ, the spirit of justice,
charity, and peace. (#25)
The justice of a social and economic system is finally measured by the way in
which a person's work is rewarded. According to the principle of the common use
of goods, it is through the remuneration for work that in any system most people
have access to these goods, both the goods of nature and those manufactured. A
just wage is a concrete measure -and in a sense the key one- of the justice of
a system. (#19)
Through work people must earn their daily bread and contribute to the continual
advance of science and technology and, above all, to elevating unceasingly the
cultural and moral level of the society within which he lives in community with
those who belong to the same family.
And work means any activity by human beings, whether manual or intellectual,
whatever its nature or circumstances; it means any human activity that can and
must be recognized as work, in the midst of all the many activities of which
people are capable and to which they are predisposed by their very nature,
by virtue of humanity itself. (Introduction)
The purpose of unions is not simply to defend the existing wages and prerogatives
of the fraction of workers who belong to them, but also to enable workers to make
positive and creative contributions to the firm, the community, and the larger
society in an organized and cooperative way. (#20)
The church's constant teaching on the right to private property and ownership
of the means of production differs radically from the collectivism proclaimed
by Marxism, but also from the capitalism practiced by liberalism and the
political systems inspired by it. (#14)
Yet the workers' rights cannot be doomed to be the mere result of economic
systems aimed at maximum profits. The thing that must shape the whole economy
is respect for the workers' rights within each country and all through the
world's economy. #17
We must pay more attention to the one who works than to what the worker does.
The self-realization of the human person is the measure of what is right and
wrong. #6
Work is in the first place "for the worker" and not the worker "for work."
Work itself can have greater or lesser objective value, but all work should
be judged by the measure of dignity given to the person who carries it out.#6
We must consequently continue to study the situation of the worker. There is
a need for solidarity movements among and with the workers. The church is firmly
committed to this cause, in fidelity to Christ, and to be truly the "church of
the poor." #8
The means of production cannot become a separate property, called capital,
as opposed to labor. They cannot be owned against labor or to exploit labor.
They cannot be owned just for the sake of owning them. The only title to their
ownership - whether private, public, or collective- is that they serve labor.
This means that under suitable conditions the socialization of certain means
of production could be acceptable. (#14)
Work is a duty, because our Creator demanded it and because it maintains and
develops our humanity. We must work out of regard for others, especially our
own families, but also because of the society we belong to and in fact because
of the whole of humanity. #16
We inherit the work of the generations before us, and we share in the building
of the future of all those who will come after us. All this should be kept in
mind when considering the rights that come with work or the duty to work. #16