Subsidiarity
Solve Problems Where They Arise
Closely Linked to Solidarity
There are Tasks
Proper to the State
Empowers Individuals
Necessary for a Stable Social Order
Demands a Full Exercise of Sovereignty
A Cornerstone Principle of Catholic Social Teaching
“Subsidiarity is among the most constant and characteristic directives of the Church’s social doctrine and has been present since the first great social encyclical [Rerum Novarum]” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 185)
The State should undertake only those tasks which are beyond the capacity of individuals or private groups acting independently.
What is the Definition of Subsidiarity?
Decisions in society need to be made at the lowest competent level.
Problems are best solved at the level where they arise – if possible.
Any activity that can be efficaciously performed by a more decentralized entity – should be.
Subsidiarity Guards Against Tyranny
“It is a fundamental principle of social philosophy, fixed and unchangeable, that one should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry. So, too, it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and a disturbance of right order to transfer to the larger and higher collectivity functions which can be performed and provided for by the lesser and subordinate bodies”. (Pope Pius XI, 79)
“No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty.” (Pope Francis, 3.2)
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It is by recognizing subsidiarity that the state is, itself, justified: i.e., “will more freely, powerfully, and effectively do all those things that belong to it alone because it alone can do them”. Subsidiarity, properly understood, both justifies and sets limits on the activities of the state. (Pope Pius XI, 80)
“Individuals and groups have the right to go their own way, even though they may sometimes make mistakes. In full respect for that freedom, civil society is called to help each person and social organization to take up its specific role and thus contribute to the common good.” (Pope Francis)
Why Must Decisions be Handled at the Lowest Level?
Subsidiarity ensures society is organized towards its proper ends. “Not only is it wrong from the ethical point of view to disregard human nature, which is made for freedom, but in practice it is impossible to do so. Where society is so organized as to reduce arbitrarily or even suppress the sphere in which freedom is legitimately exercised, the result is that the life of society becomes progressively disorganized and goes into decline.” (Pope St. John Paul II, 25)
Pope St. John Paul II pointed out subsidiarity is critical because it “insists on necessary limits to the State’s intervention…inasmuch as the individual, the family and society are prior to the state and inasmuch as the State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them”. (Centesimus Annus, 11)
“We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 28)
Why is Subsidiarity Important?
The principle of subsidiarity lies at the heart of a stable social order by fostering the personal responsibility that naturally accompanies individual liberty – ensuring that personal interest is not placed in opposition to societal interests – and by seeking to bring individual desires and the demands of the common good into fruitful harmony.
Subsidiarity is a prescriptive principle in that it informs us how decision-making should be delegated among social groups – in order to allow for authentic freedom and human dignity.
Subsidiarity “is always designed to achieve…emancipation because it fosters freedom and participation through assumption of responsibility. Subsidiarity respects personal dignity”. (Pope Benedict XVI, 57)
Warnings
The Church has consistently cautioned against neglecting subsidiarity.
- Subsidiarity “insists on necessary limits to the State’s intervention…inasmuch as the individual, the family and society are prior to the state and inasmuch as the State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 11)
- “No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty.” (Pope Francis, 3.2)
- “Experience has shown that where personal initiative is lacking, political tyranny ensues.” (Pope St. John XXIII, 57)
The Consequences of Ignoring or Seriously Abrogating Subsidiarity
“Experience has shown that where personal initiative is lacking, political tyranny ensues.” (Pope St. John XXIII, 57)
“Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1883) and Pope Saint John Paul II warned that the state should avoid enlarging excessively the sphere of state intervention to the detriment of both economic and civil freedoms. (Centesimus Annus, 48)
If responsibilities are not handled at the proper level our freedom is in danger: “Undoubtedly the principle of subsidiarity [is] an expression of inalienable human freedom. Subsidiarity is first and foremost a form of assistance to the human person” which “respects personal dignity by recognizing in the person a subject who is always capable of giving something to others.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 57)
Pope Francis, perhaps more strongly than his predecessors, notes that “No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty.” (Address to the Second World Meeting of Popular Movements, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 3.2)
Is the Church Limiting the State’s Power?
Not the state’s ability to effect needed changes and numerous goods!
Subsidiarity “is always designed to achieve…emancipation because it fosters freedom and participation through assumption of responsibility. Subsidiarity respects personal dignity by recognizing in the person a subject who is always capable of giving something to others.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 57)
What Must I Do?
While one may end up supporting, say, national solutions to social issues – one must never start there.
“We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 28)
Pope Benedict XVI goes on to say that subsidiarity should not be viewed simply as a limit on the state as this principle “is always designed to achieve…emancipation because it fosters freedom and participation through assumption of responsibility…
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Subsidiarity respects personal dignity by recognizing in the person a subject who is always capable of giving something to others.” (Pope Benedict XVI, 57) The principle of subsidiarity lies at the heart of a stable social order by fostering the personal responsibility that naturally accompanies individual liberty – ensuring that personal interest is not placed in opposition to societal interests – and by seeking to bring individual desires and the demands of the common good into fruitful harmony.
FAQs
Q: Why must the state respect subsidiarity?
A: Subsidiarity “Insists on necessary limits to the State’s intervention…inasmuch as the individual, the family and society are prior to the state and inasmuch as the State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them”. (Pope St. John Paul II, 11)
While at the international level Pope Benedict XVI points out that: “[i]n order not to produce a dangerous universal power of a tyrannical nature, the governance of globalization must be marked by subsidiarity.” (Caritas in Veritate, 57)
