Socialization of the means of production

[Fr_of_Jazz]

Pope John Paul II while a vigorous defender of private property, private ownership of the means of production, a regulated free market, the centrality of individual initiative in economic policy, and equally vigorous in rejecting collectivism nonetheless does explore “the socialization, in suitable conditions, of certain means of production” in Laborem Exercens (14).

I would propose that employee-owned businesses in America meet this goal.

Through a family member I am very familiar with one in particular. It produces custom metallurgical products. After 5 yrs he is fully into the company via private stock; and empoyment includes profit sharing, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive health and dental benefits, life insurance and short-term disability. They work very hard; there are policies (re discipline, drugs, etc.) which they all agree upon to ensure success, and which no union would tolerate. Hiring is based on merit and qualifications. They have more business than they know what to do with. They’re lean, mean, profitable, competitive, produce quality products, and continue to grow. The employees are doing very, very well.

What do you think?

 

[Jonatello]

I’m a big fan

 

[Abu]

Facing Reality on socialization

**Religion & Liberty
Volume 6, Number 4 - July and August 1996
The Principle of Subsidiarity
by David A. Bosnich **
"One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom. It conflicts with the passion for centralization and bureaucracy characteristic of the Welfare State.

"This is why Pope John Paul II took the “social assistance state” to task in his 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus. The Pontiff wrote that the Welfare State was contradicting the principle of subsidiarity by intervening directly and depriving society of its responsibility. This “leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending.

"In reviewing John XXIII’s encyclical Mater et Magistra, Father Robert Sirico observes that the Pontiff’s desire was to strengthen mediating institutions in order to protect the primacy of the human person. Far from advancing any form of collectivism, Pope John wanted to “multiply social relationships” so that the individual would be free to pursue the common good. Socialization does not mean centralization. Rather, it refers to the voluntary associations which Alexis de Tocqueville praised as being a vital part of American freedom in the 1830s.

"The principle of subsidiarity is both thoroughly Catholic and thoroughly American.

"When the federal government usurps the rights and responsibilities of state and local governments, a flagrant violation of the principle of subsidiarity has occurred. If upper echelon bureaucrats in a Cabinet department operate in a top-down manner and deny any flexibility to their subordinates, the effectiveness of this department will be diminished. Higgins’s interpretation of subsidiarity exempts the internal operation of the various levels and branches of government from any critical scrutiny.

“The top-down, centralized planning of the Soviet system could not succeed because it contradicted the subsidiarity principle. When producers and consumers are not allowed to bargain freely, prices cease to reflect meaningful information and become arbitrary dictates of the bureaucracy.”

acton.org/pub/religion-liberty/volume-6-number-4/principle-subsidiarity

 

[Fr_of_Jazz]

Facing Reality on socialization

**Religion & Liberty
Volume 6, Number 4 - July and August 1996
The Principle of Subsidiarity
by David A. Bosnich **
"One of the key principles of Catholic social thought is known as the principle of subsidiarity. This tenet holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. In other words, any activity which can be performed by a more decentralized entity should be. This principle is a bulwark of limited government and personal freedom. It conflicts with the passion for centralization and bureaucracy characteristic of the Welfare State.

"This is why Pope John Paul II took the “social assistance state” to task in his 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus. The Pontiff wrote that the Welfare State was contradicting the principle of subsidiarity by intervening directly and depriving society of its responsibility. This “leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending.

"In reviewing John XXIII’s encyclical Mater et Magistra, Father Robert Sirico observes that the Pontiff’s desire was to strengthen mediating institutions in order to protect the primacy of the human person. Far from advancing any form of collectivism, Pope John wanted to “multiply social relationships” so that the individual would be free to pursue the common good. Socialization does not mean centralization. Rather, it refers to the voluntary associations which Alexis de Tocqueville praised as being a vital part of American freedom in the 1830s.

"The principle of subsidiarity is both thoroughly Catholic and thoroughly American.

"When the federal government usurps the rights and responsibilities of state and local governments, a flagrant violation of the principle of subsidiarity has occurred. If upper echelon bureaucrats in a Cabinet department operate in a top-down manner and deny any flexibility to their subordinates, the effectiveness of this department will be diminished. Higgins’s interpretation of subsidiarity exempts the internal operation of the various levels and branches of government from any critical scrutiny.

“The top-down, centralized planning of the Soviet system could not succeed because it contradicted the subsidiarity principle. When producers and consumers are not allowed to bargain freely, prices cease to reflect meaningful information and become arbitrary dictates of the bureaucracy.”

acton.org/pub/religion-liberty/volume-6-number-4/principle-subsidiarity

I agree.

What’s you take on employee-owned business as fulfilling JPII’s call for a socialization in certain circumstanced of the means of production?

 

[Abu]

Fr of Jazz
What’s you take on employee-owned business as fulfilling JPII’s call for a socialization in certain circumstanced of the means of production?

There is nothing wrong with employee-owned businesses which supply goods or services required by the society at competitive prices and are profitable. They are not “socialization” as it pertains to State ownership.

CCC 1882: Certain societies, such as the family and the state, correspond more directly to the nature of man; they are necessary to him. To promote the participation of the greatest number in the life of a society, the creation of voluntary associations and institutions must be encouraged “on both national and international levels, which relate to economic and social goals, to cultural and recreational activities, to sport, to various professions, and to political affairs.” This “socialization” also expresses the natural tendency for human beings to associate with one another for the sake of attaining objectives that exceed individual capacities. It develops the qualities of the person, especially the sense of initiative and responsibility, and helps guarantee his rights.

1883 Socialization also presents dangers. Excessive intervention by the state can threaten personal freedom and initiative. The teaching of the Church has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which “a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co- ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.”