Perhaps the word “libertarian” was too vague. I’m referring mostly to the voluntaryist/anarcho-capitalist ideas that the state does not have more authority than the individual.
I find myself becoming more and more anarchist, and I’m wondering how these ideals hold up with Catholic social teaching. The Church seems to lean towards statism, at least in the vague sense that we need a loosely defined government to ensure fairness and defense. Does this leave any room for complete voluntaryism? Or is a state built on coercion necessary according to Catholic social teaching?
Its funny how you mention the state and it’s authority with the individual, because Catholic social teaching has a concept known as “primacy of the person”. It teaches us that all social functions are to be at the service of the person. The family, the state, the international order, etc. are all here to serve the person, rather than the other way around. So, the individual comes before the family, the state, etc. For millennia, humanity had been under the notion of state and family as ruler. For example, in the Roman Empire, the people had to give blind obedience to the emporer and saw him as a god, and the patriarchal family structure consisted of a despotic pater familias who controlled the lives of his family members. The Church, however, gave us the radical notion that the family and state were here to SERVE man, rather than rule, since that God is ruler. All authority given to family and state is to be directed toward the good of those under it, and this authority is to be practiced selflessly and only when it is needed.
I’m gal to hear you’re becoming more of an anarchist, join the revolution brother! The Church seems to lean toward statism because it use the word “state” to describe some kind of governmental structure entrusted with authority. However, when Catholic social teaching is actually put into action, with subsidiarity and primacy of the person in mind, the state strangely resembles more of an anarchistic model. As for complete voluntaryism, that would not fit Catholic social teaching, because the Church teaches that this decentralized state would have to step in for some cases, but, if subsidiarity is taken seriously, these cases should become increasingly rare. Remember, the Church puts a lot of emphasis on the common good, and we all have a basic right to food, health care, shelter, clothing, etc. However, subsidiarity gives us the chance to work toward a voluntaryist, anarcho-capitalist society, but force is necessary in cases where basic human needs can’t be satisfied. My economic views are a mix of distributism and Austrian economics because distributism affirms that the economy is the servant of man, and Austrianism ensures our economic freedom.
Another forum member spoke on the relationship between subsidiarity and anarchism:
In brief, anarchism can be viewed as extreme subsidiarity, where rules are established in the narrowest and most local manner possible. Neighborhood rules are established by neighbors, agreed upon by neighbors, and mutually enforced by neighbors. The broader and higher tiered a society gets, the more that rules become abstract laws removed from their local intent and value. Once you get to higher levels of government you have the absurdity of people in a distant capitol making laws for an arbitrary jurisdiction, and enforcement has minimal actual consent from the governed. Why should the cultural norms of the Pacific Northwest, which has a high tolerance for marijuana use and little danger from allowing it, be dictated by folks in Washington D.C.? The DEA is a government entity that is inherently distant from the people it supposedly serves, and its rules become arbitrary and lack the consent of the people.
Free association implies the acceptance of the rules of the group, and mutual enforcement of the norms. It implies a choice to join, and a choice to accept those who wish to join. Just as I agree to abide by, and enforce, the rules of chess when I play a match, I can do the same with my associates in other endeavors. In doing so I’m accountable to the group I associate with, not any outside, arbitrary organization.
A few other forum members and I had been speaking on this topic and I recommend looking at the thread to learn more about this:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=955036
And last of all, I highly advise you take a look at John Paul II’s Compedium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. It is possibly the greatest source of discovering more about Catholic social teaching. It’s very long, but I think looking at certain sections will help you find out what you’re looking for:
vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html