Mike Kane MP hosted the Catholic Union’s Parliamentary Reception.
Addressing the Catholic Union’s Parliamentary Reception, Charles Wookey, spoke about the development of Catholic Social Teaching as we face the current economic and political challenges of today.
The development of Catholic Social Teaching as we face the current economic and political challenges of today.
I am delighted to be able to spend time with you this afternoon to reflect on how Catholic Social Teaching can help guide our thoughts and actions as we navigate the wave of challenges that we are currently facing – and to do so in the week following the new Pope’s inaugural mass.
From the outset of his Pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has made clear from his choice of name the importance he attaches to Catholic Social Teaching. He describes the need for the Church to respond to “another industrial revolution and developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour”.
Leo XIII’s groundbreaking document Rerum Novarum published in 1891 extended the gospel teachings to life in society. In the wake of massive social ferment and dislocation it offered a profound critique of both laissez-faire capitalism and the ideology of communism – based on what it means to be human and what seeking the common good truly demands. It did not itself propose an alternative political programme, still less a party political one. Its genius, refined and developed in subsequent Papal teaching documents, lay in the development of an interlocking set of ideas that exposed narrow assumptions about being human and continue to challenge both state and market based political options. The core ideas of CST sit in creative tension with each other, and are thereby able to offer inspiration and challenge across the political spectrum. And as a body of teaching, it is developing as society evolves.
The foundation of CST is human dignity – the intrinsic value of each person made in the image of God. Its rejects a narrowly materialist conception of human needs and desires, and affirms both the spiritual and relational dimensions of life. Juxtaposed against the enlightenment view of the sovereign individual, CST emphasises that to be human is to be a person whose relationships are not just extraneous but help define and shape who we are and become, in families, communities, workplaces and as citizens.
From CST , we are gifted a rich understanding of “the common good” which is most wonderfully described by Pope Benedict XVI in his 2009 encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (n7): “It is the good of “all of us”, made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society[4]. It is a good that is sought not for its own sake, but for the people who belong to the social community and who can only really and effectively pursue their good within it. To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity… The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practise this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis.”
One of the things I like about this passage is the way it makes clear that a commitment to the common good is not something added to our faith. It is simply part of it, the application in society of the commandment to love our neighbour.
Then there are two other principles which help guide how we might act in service of human dignity and the common good. Solidarity – which is really a commitment to pursue the common good, and subsidiarity, which is essentially a call for political decisions to be made at the lowest level possible, so as to leave the maximum space for people, families and communities to participate, act freely and thereby realise their full dignity.
There is often a particular tension between these two, as the Compendium on the social doctrine puts it: “solidarity without subsidiarity can easily degenerate into a welfare state, while subsidiarity without solidarity runs the risk of encouraging forms of self-centred localism”. As an observation, it seems to me that people are very good at balancing tensions in their daily lives – commitments to work, family, communities etc. We need to have honest and open conversations at the national level which recognise that tensions are real and can be navigable.
So in the context of CST, let me say something very briefly about its relevance for three current economic and political challenges, namely:
- Populism
- Growth
- The role of business and developments in AI
Populism
In CST the idea of solidarity as a shared commitment to the common good is based on love and care for the other. But there can also be a form of solidarity based not on love but on fear of the other, and creating an identity based on exclusion. Vaclav Havel made the profound point that leaders in all walks of life, in business, in the media and in politics, have a great responsibility in shaping society through what it is they choose to appeal to in others – their fear and greed, or their love and selflessness. We all have the capacity to respond to both, and it matters hugely which is fed by our leaders.
The power of the populist lies in forging a bond with “the people” understood as a distinct group who have a shared closed identity. Pope Francis writes in his last social teaching document Fratelli Tutti of “A living and dynamic people, a people with a future, one constantly open to a new synthesis through its ability to welcome differences. In this way it does not deny its proper identity but is open to being mobilised, challenged, broadened and enriched by others, and thus to further growth and development”. (n160)
On issues like immigration CST urges us to hold in tension both the legitimate needs and rights of the local population and the need to be open to meeting the needs of others. It does not settle a difficult dilemma but lives with and holds up the tension between competing goods.
Growth
The recent political discourse has alighted on the pursuit of economic growth as an unquestioned and unalloyed good. It was not always so. The elevation of growth as a goal in itself reflects both the dominance of economic and market thinking and the lack of any consensus or vision about what makes for a good society. Growth is the one thing we can all agree is desirable.
However, we are rapidly bumping up against ecological boundaries and facing rising social inequality.. A rising generation that will have to live through the next 60 years will have to navigate massive technological, social and environmental dislocation and challenge. CST asks a simple but profound question: what is the point of growth, and what kind of growth do we need to help realise the true common good of society? Pope Francis’ development of the idea of “integral human development” offers a way of thinking that now includes environmental and social issues within the core of CST. Crudely he is asking us all whether life is about more stuff or a different kind of life that we need? A question that is more urgent than ever as we consider the role of business and the onset of AI.
The role of business and developments in AI
The market never exists in a pure state (cf CiV). It is always a social and cultural construct, and dominant ideas including on the role of business in society profoundly shape what happens. After the 2008 Global Financial Crisis many business leaders began to re-assess two dominant ideas: firstly that the role of business is simply to maximise profits for shareholders, and secondly, that people are best assumed to be self-interested and motivated by money, status and power.
Drawing on CST, a group of us working with leaders of major UK businesses developed two different ideas – that businesses can have a purpose which contributes to creating wider common goods, and that human beings are more realistically understood as not merely self-interested but also desiring meaning, belonging, growth and development. Businesses operating with these ideas would be better businesses (with more motivated people), better for society (because their aim is positive social impact), and better for people (who are treated with respect and valued). Profit, though still vital, is now a means and not the ultimate goal. Once a business leader changes how they think, and recognises that a business is not just a vehicle for delivering profits but a social organisation where people matter, everything changes. In our work at A Blueprint for Better Business, I’ve seen what happens when these ideas take hold.
What relevance does this have for how the development of AI systems is about to transform business and society?. I’ll mention just two current areas where CST has direct relevance. The deployment of AI in the workplace can be seen as an opportunity to reduce costs through automation (substituting jobs wherever possible) or for creating more meaningful work (by augmenting people wherever possible – creating more meaningful jobs). Second, the development of AI agents or assistants with customers can be seen as intended to offer “goods that are truly good and services that truly serve” or to capture and manipulate attention and human behaviour. These are not technical questions. Are we creating tools or pretending these AI assistants are ‘colleagues’? What features do we build in? The design principles reflect desired goals. I would argue that in setting these design principles, human dignity and flourishing should be core. Like with social media in 2013-15, what is created over the next 2 years will hugely shape society in the coming decade.
At the centre of CST lies the conviction that love is at the heart of everything. It is a hopeful story about how people can live better together and a possible future that is better for all. We are bombarded by so many negativities that it is easy to be despondent and fearful. Hope, as Thomas Aquinas said, is a choice to pursue something that is difficult but possible to attain. CST, as an expression of faith, draws from a deep well to inspire and support people wanting to create a better world together. Committing to the principles of CST is possible for people of all faiths and none. For Catholics though, a commitment to CST is an affirmation of their faith, and one that is needed more than ever.
Charles Wookey