Rerum Novarum

1. Read your quote. Explain what your paragraph was about, in your own words. Give an example if it helps. For your assignment, write 20 quotes, and write at least 10 main points. The goal of this is to get an idea of what the document says, and HOW it constructs its argument. RerumNovarum

2. “That the spirit of revolutionary change, which has long been disturbing the nations of the world, should have passed beyond the sphere of politics and made its influence felt in the cognate sphere of practical economics is not surprising.” With all the new inventions and ideas that sprouted up during this time has changed the way of life for all. There is a huge gap between the rich and poor and there is much debate over trying to find the best way to do about this problem. During the industrial revolution FDR faced many problems but one of his most difficult was the unequal distribution of wealth. He dealt with this problem in many ways but one of the ways was he taxed the wealthy more and have that money to the poor. RerumNovarum, n. (1)

3. “It is no easy matter to define the relative rights and mutual duties of the rich and of the poor, of capital and of labor.” Even though the topic of the working class has been discussed time and time again, it is tie to discuss this touchy subject more in depth. During the Industrial revolution the working class fought for rights in the working place such as safety regulations, hour regulation, ect. They believed the best way of doing this was creating unions for the workers. RerumNovarum, n. (2)

4. “Hence, by degrees it has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition” Men at work are greedy. The difference between the work of the rich men and the poor are similar to slavery. RerumNovarum, n. (3) People in different countries do work such as cleaning sewage, which threatens diseases of all sorts, for very little pay. This is a cheaper way to clean the sewage though.

5. “They are, moreover, emphatically unjust, for they would rob the lawful possessor, distort the functions of the State, and create utter confusion in the community.” They were thinking about distributing the individual wealth to the poor and government. They refused, thinking the poor would try to rob their wealth back and cause confusion. RerumNovarum, n. (4) Taxes take close to have of your annual income. This sounds like communism where everyone is equal.

6. “If one man hires out to another his strength or skill, he does so for the purpose of receiving in return what is necessary for the satisfaction of his needs ” When a man offers his services he expects to get his needs filled in return. They can save the money they earn and have the wages they receive for their labor at full disposal. RerumNovarum, n. (5) In present day people work for certain hours a day for a certain amount of money that they have to be paid.

7. “For, every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own. ” All men have the right to own land, this separates us from animal because animals do not have the power of self direction. Humans have a mind and the ability to reason and it is this that allows humans to have permanent possession over something. RerumNovarum, n. (6) In history people have worked hard for the amount of space that they own.

8. “Man's needs do not die out, but forever recur; although satisfied today, they demand fresh supplies for tomorrow.” All humans have the right to provide for the nutrition of the body. People should provide for others as God provides for them. RerumNovarum, n. Ch. 7 By assisting others in charities, such as food banks in our Parishes, we are helping provide nourishment to those less fortunate.

9. RerumNovarum, n. Ch. 8 “Those who do not possess the soil contribute their labor.” God created the earth for us, therefore, it is our responsibility to use the talents He gave us to help produce its fruits. Although some farmers and their workers are not the landowners, they are the ones who work the hardest to provide for others, all of what nature provides.

10. “Here, again, we have further proof that private ownership is in accordance with the law of nature ” Man has a right by nature to own things without the laws consent. There for certain laws can not take away man’s rights. RerumNovarum, n. (9) Example: Womens’ rights in the Industrial Revolution.

11. “As effects follow their cause, so is it just and right that the results of labor should belong to those who have bestowed their labor.  ” To make something beautiful out of nothing should be shared. If one over consumes it then they are greedy. Visual RerumNovarum, n. (10) Example: Slaves during the Civil War

12. “Everyone has division of property but it is not obligatory” The nature laws give the humanity division of property. And the Civil-laws say that also. Rerum Novarum, n. (11) I can divide my wealth or keep it to myself.

13. RerumNovarum, n. (12) “No human law can abolish the natural and original right of marriage ” Everyone are at full liberty to follow the council of Jesus Christ or to bind themselves by the marriage tie You can choose get marriage or be a priest

14. 13. That right to property, therefore, which has been proved to belong naturally to individual persons, must in like wise belong to a man in his capacity of head of a family; nay, that right is all the stronger in proportion as the human person receives a wider extension in the family group. It is a most sacred law of nature that a father should provide food and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten; and, similarly, it is natural that he should wish that his children, who carry on, so to speak, and continue his personality, should be by him provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep themselves decently from want and misery amid the uncertainties of this mortal life. Now, in no other way can a father effect this except by the ownership of productive property, which he can transmit to his children by inheritance. A family, no less than a State, is, as We have said, a true society, governed by an authority peculiar to itself, that is to say, by the authority of the father. Provided, therefore, the limits which are prescribed by the very purposes for which it exists be not transgressed, the family has at least equal rights with the State in the choice and pursuit of the things needful to its preservation and its just liberty. We say, "at least equal rights"; for, inasmuch as the domestic household is antecedent, as well in idea as in fact, to the gathering of men into a community, the family must necessarily have rights and duties which are prior to those of the community, and founded more immediately in nature. If the citizens, if the families on entering into association and fellowship, were to experience hindrance in a commonwealth instead of help, and were to find their rights attacked instead of being upheld, society would rightly be an object of detestation rather than of desire. 

15. 14. The contention, then, that the civil government should at its option intrude into and exercise intimate control over the family and the household is a great and pernicious error. True, if a family finds itself in exceeding distress, utterly deprived of the counsel of friends, and without any prospect of extricating itself, it is right that extreme necessity be met by public aid, since each family is a part of the commonwealth. In like manner, if within the precincts of the household there occur grave disturbance of mutual rights, public authority should intervene to force each party to yield to the other its proper due; for this is not to deprive citizens of their rights, but justly and properly to safeguard and strengthen them. But the rulers of the commonwealth must go no further; here, nature bids them stop. Paternal authority can be neither abolished nor absorbed by the State; for it has the same source as human life itself. "The child belongs to the father," and is, as it were, the continuation of the father's personality; and speaking strictly, the child takes its place in civil society, not of its own right, but in its quality as member of the family in which it is born. And for the very reason that "the child belongs to the father" it is, as St. Thomas Aquinas says, "before it attains the use of free will, under the power and the charge of its parents."(4) The socialists, therefore, in setting aside the parent and setting up a State supervision, act against natural justice, and destroy the structure of the home. 

16. “It is clear that the main tenet of socialism, community of goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonweal” • Rerum Novarum, n. (15) It is unfair how citizens have to encounter such intolerable and hateful acts. People attain lack of interest and equality. This addresses the commonweal and people’s rights/equality for all

17. “We who are the chief guardian of religion and the chief dispenser of what pertains to the Church; and by keeping silence we would seem to neglect the duty incumbent on us. • Rerum Novarum, n. (16) We are in the church and by not being messengers and keeping silent we are neglecting the church. The church helps us to lead our life in the right direction. Neglecting something we believe in and keeping silent is wrong, we should stand up for what we believe.

18. Rerum Novarum, 17 “even had man never fallen from the state of innocence, he would not have remained wholly idle; but that which would then have been his free choice and his delight became after wards compulsory, and the painful expiation for his disobedience.” This paragraph is talking about how society needs the inequality so that the social life can have various capacities. This is what allows for the so many different, but important jobs through out the world. An example of this would be if everyone in the world was really rich and had enough money so that they did not have to work, then we would not be progressing in any field and the world would be full of very lazy people. This would bring the world to a stand still and a very dull era.

19. Rerum Novarum, 18 “ Nothing is more useful than to look upon the world as it really is, and at the same time to seek elsewhere” This paragraph is talking about how there are certain things in life that mankind needs and suffering is one of them because it gives man something to climb over and achieve. Another reason why man needs suffering is that if there were no hardships in life, then sin would mean nothing and there would be a great evil in the world worse then it is now. An example of how people can change their mind once they see how a person or group of persons is suffering would the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, this book brought awareness to how bad slavery was in the South, and this helped man to take a different view and put an end to slavery.

20. “capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital” Chapter 19 explains the “false” natural conflicts between different economical classes. It also explains how all people of different walks of life should live in harmony without any conflict. Chapter 20 talks about following the duties of the wealthy owner and the employer. RerumNovarum, n. (19) This addresses people that have hatred towards other just because they are different . An example of this is segregation between different races of people in the 1950s.

21. “but wealthy owners and all masters of labor should be mindful of this - that to exercise pressure upon the indigent and the destitute for the sake of gain, and to gather one's profit out of the need of another, is condemned by all laws, human and divine” Chapter 20 tells us how we should not put people in jobs that they are not capable of handling. It also talks about how laborers need to have responsibility over their workers. RerumNovarum, n. (20) An example of this can be sweat shops were children are put to work even if they are not suited for that type of work or any work at all,

22. “ When we have given up this present life, then shall we really begin to live.” Don’t live your life collecting material things, they are worthless when you go to heaven. Live you life gathering heavenly goodness and character. RerumNovarum, n. (21) In present day do service hours at oragnizations like catholic worker to build our true worth.

23. “those whom fortune favors are warned that riches do not bring freedom from sorrow and are of no avail for eternal happiness, but rather are obstacles” Being rich will not get you into heaven. God will judge you from your actions not you materials. RerumNovarum, n. (22) In the beatitudes Jesus says “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

24. “In God's sight poverty is no disgrace, and that there is nothing to be ashamed of in earning their bread by labor” There is nothing wrong with being poor and working to survive. Jesus was rich as the Son of God but became a carpenter. RerumNovarum, n. (23) People need to have jobs today in order to support themselves and their families.

25. “The true worth and nobility of man lie in his moral qualities” Those who know their self worth can achieve everlasting happiness. Jesus loves and cares for the unfortunate. RerumNovarum, n. (24) The poor and homeless today can still be happy despite their hardships because Jesus shows compassion for them.

26. “For they will understand and feel that all men are children of the same common Father, who is God” Everyone is children of God and God himself can make a human or an Angel, but either way they are still the creations of God. People and everything else in this world have many things in common but the main thing is that we are all created by God and no one is turned down from the Kingdom of Heaven. RerumNovarum, n. (25) Something that this addresses is the fact of segregation and racism created by thinking that others are different, but in the end we are all created by God and have that in common.

27. RerumNovarum, n. (26) “She strives to influence the mind and the heart so that all may willingly yield themselves to be formed and guided by the commandments of God” The Church is set up to help people lead a better path in life, and to follow the commandments that God had for them to follow. Through the Church men can be taught to treat others respectively and to follow their passions while loving God and others. An example of this is when one doesn’t think that another is good enough to be treated with respect, but God teaches through the church that everyone is good enough and should be loved and love one another.

28. “to fall away from its primal constitution implies disease; to go back to it, recovery” In order to recover from bad times, society needs to go back to its roots in Christianity and be healed by the power of Jesus Christ. Visual RerumNovarum, n. 27 The Great Depression

29. “Christian morality, when adequately and completely practiced, leads of itself to temporal prosperity, for it merits the blessing of that God who is the source of all blessings” By following the Church’s teachings, one can receive God’s blessings and become a person void of greed and over-abundance, helping the poor. Visual RerumNovarum, n. 28 Catholic Worker

30. “Herein, again, she has always succeeded so well as to have even extorted the praise of her enemies. ” The Church helps relieving the poverty. Christians that were in better circumstances despoiled themselves of their possessions in order to relieve their brethren. Visual Rerum Novarum, n. 29 The Church sets on foot and maintains many associations which she knows to be efficient for the relief of poverty

31. “Charity, as a virtue, pertains to the Church” The Church has provided aid for the needy. The common Mother of rich and poor has aroused everywhere the heroism of charity, and has established congregations of religious and many other useful institutions for help and mercy. Visual Rerum Novarum, n. 30 The Church helps to promote a better life condition for the poor with charity.

32. “All who are concerned in the matter should be of one mind and according to their ability act together.” In order to create a relief and remedy organization, everyone must be able to agree with each other in order for it to be successful. They must be able to agree on how much the State should take part and play in the work of remedy and relief. RerumNovarum, n. (31) Loudoun Interfaith Relief

33. “… the more that is done for the benefit of the working classes by the general laws of the country, the less need will there be to seek for special means to relieve them.” It is the duty of the world’s leaders to institute laws to honor every citizen’s natural rights, no matter what social class they are in. Now as a result of their focus on benefiting every social class, it allows the “commonwealth” to work and serve for the “common good”. RerumNovarum, n. (32) The Constitution of Status

34. “As the part and the whole are in a certain sense identical, so that which belongs to the whole in a sense belongs to the part. ” In accordance to that of religious value, the members of the working class are individuals that deserve equal attention regarding state rights. The public administration should provide for the welfare of the working class otherwise their neglect could be viewed as a direct violation of constitutional rights. RerumNovarum, n. (33) An example of the issues that this section addresses is that of working illegal immigrants and whether they should receive any sort of benefit for their labor.

35. “Indeed, their co-operation is in this respect so important that it may be truly said that it is only by the labor of working men that States grow rich. ” Society cannot exist without incongruities within the condition of the state. It is a hierarchy of power in which the power govern the lesser, however, justice, therefore, demands that the interests of the working classes should be carefully watched over by the administration, so that they who contribute so largely to the advantage of the community may themselves share in the benefits. RerumNovarum, n. (34) This section almost directly addresses labor issues back in the early 1900’s, in which labor unions were formed to expose and exhibit the desires of the working class to benefit all.

36. RerumNovarum, n. (35) “the safety of the commonwealth is not only the first law, but it is a government's whole reason of existence” In this chapter, it is saying how the power of the government needs to be exercised like God did. The power to rule comes from God himself. This addresses how the government controls their power today. They are supposed to do it for the common good of human beings, not themselves just as God did it.

37. “law must not undertake more, nor proceed further, than is required for the remedy of the evil or the removal of the mischief” ” to This chapter is saying that if there is any harm to any group, race, public authority must be involved. It says it would be right to raise up the law, so no one is under “occasions of evil” in work areas etc. Visual RerumNovarum, n. (36) This addresses how as the commonwealth of people today, we need to live by God’s laws. This will remove the evil and disobedience happening around us today.

38. “Rights must be religiously respected wherever they exist … and to protect everyone in the possession of his own” The rich have a better way of being financial stable and independent. Whereas the poor need to rely more on the government to support them. RerumNovarum, n. (37) Some examples would be the government giving families in need food stamps, providing free government run family clinics, and shelters for the homeless.

39. “Most is true that by far the largest part of the workers prefer to better themselves by honest labor rather than by doing any wrong to others” many people in the work force try to get ahead by breaking rules and doing unjust acts. The authority of law should try to prevent these acts from happening and keep things in order RerumNovarum, n. (38) A specific example would be corporations or businesses that hide their income to avoid paying taxes, so they can pocket those tax dollars.

40. “The laws should forestall and prevent such troubles from arising; they should lend their influence and authority to the removal in good time of the causes which lead to conflicts between employers and employed. ” The law should be able to help people that are treated unfairly art work and that are not given appropriate work conditions. RerumNovarum, n. (39) Triangle Fire Strikes

41. 39. When work people have recourse to a strike and become voluntarily idle, it is frequently because the hours of labor are too long, or the work too hard, or because they consider their wages insufficient. The grave inconvenience of this not uncommon occurrence should be obviated by public remedial measures; for such paralysing of labor not only affects the masters and their work people alike, but is extremely injurious to trade and to the general interests of the public; moreover, on such occasions, violence and disorder are generally not far distant, and thus it frequently happens that the public peace is imperiled. The laws should forestall and prevent such troubles from arising; they should lend their influence and authority to the removal in good time of the causes which lead to conflicts between employers and employed. 

42. “Life on earth, however good and desirable in itself, is not the final purpose for which man is created; it is only the way and the means to that attainment of truth and that love of goodness in which the full life of the soul consists” All men are equal and there should be no separation between rich and poor. RerumNovarum, n. (40) - Everyday job openings

43. 40. The working man, too, has interests in which he should be protected by the State; and first of all, there are the interests of his soul. Life on earth, however good and desirable in itself, is not the final purpose for which man is created; it is only the way and the means to that attainment of truth and that love of goodness in which the full life of the soul consists. It is the soul which is made after the image and likeness of God; it is in the soul that the sovereignty resides in virtue whereof man is commanded to rule the creatures below him and to use all the earth and the ocean for his profit and advantage. "Fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth."(29) In this respect all men are equal; there is here no difference between rich and poor, master and servant, ruler and ruled, "for the same is Lord over all."(30) No man may with impunity outrage that human dignity which God Himself treats with great reverence, nor stand in the way of that higher life which is the preparation of the eternal life of heaven. Nay, more; no man has in this matter power over himself. To consent to any treatment which is calculated to defeat the end and purpose of his being is beyond his right; he cannot give up his soul to servitude, for it is not man's own rights which are here in question, but the rights of God, the most sacred and inviolable of rights. 

44. “Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day” Sunday is a day meant for rest and for everyone to take a day off work. We must remember to keep in mind of the Sabbath day and to follow the traditions. RerumNovarum, n. 41 An example this expresses is when people go to work Monday through Saturday and skip work on the holy day of Sunday.

45. RerumNovarum, n. 42 “In all agreements between masters and work people there is always the condition expressed or understood that there should be allowed proper rest for soul and body.” People need rest and it affects the way of their performance in work and daily processes. People need the proper amount of rest so we are in good conditions after a sleep. An example of this would be people not getting enough sleep and slacking in work because they don’t get the proper amount of rest.

46. RerumNovarum, n. (43) “Wages, as we are told, are regulated by free consent, and therefore the employer, when he pays what was agreed upon, has done his part and seemingly is not called upon to do anything beyond. ” #43 discusses the importance of just wages and how injustices may occur. This includes the refusal of the employer to pay or the refusal or work by the worker. This section was mainly added to address employers that take advantage of their workers, which is why a minimum wage was created.

47. RerumNovarum, n. (44) “It necessarily follows that each one has a natural right to procure what is required in order to live, and the poor can procure that in no other way than by what they can earn through their work. ” #44 discusses how much a one can work and to what extent. Not everyone can work long hard hours in a mine for example because everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, as well as people that are young of age. Today, many forms of child labor are still in practice in different parts of the world where to mental and physical health of the children are not taken into consideration.

48. “Wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner” The working man is able to make agreements with his employer, but only if those agreements are just and the worker is not made a victim of the employer taking advantage. Rerum Novarum, n. 45 Example: An employer should not give an employee extra work because he knows he is desperate for money. That would not be just.

49. “The law should favor ownership, and its policy should be to induce as many as possible of the people to become owners.” Workers should be paid enough to allow them to be frugal and save. This way, they have the possibility of becoming an owner, which is encouraged. Rerum Novarum, n. 46 Example: It would not be right to only pay a worker enough for essentials like food and shelter.

50. “If working people can be encouraged to look forward to obtaining a share in the land, the consequence will be that the gulf between vast wealth and sheer poverty will be bridged over, and the respective classes will be brought nearer to one another. ” The gap between the rich and the poor is large. The only way it can be solved is for everyone to work together for the common wealth. RerumNovarum, n. 47 When everyone works together, our world would not be coated with such poverty. The gap will lessen and lessen.