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The economical thought at Caritas in veritate
with Markus Krienke
THE PERSON AND THE LAW
The climate, the political environment
is very changed, exactly when we look
at it from a Christian point of view,
of the social doctrine of the Church.
While, in the past, this prospective
could still address itself
to parties which are based explicitly,
strongly, on values and
not only on Christian values,
but also on the whole
Christian cultural heritage.
Today, this parties,
often still exist only
for the name or, on the opposite,
these same ask themselves
what the Christian dimension
of our reality means.
At this point, also the relation
of the social doctrine of the Church
at the politics finds itself in front
a big challenge and a new orientation.
So, in this new environment we need
to rethink the fundaments and the principles
of the ethical politics,
starting from social doctrine of the Church.
Which prospective,
especially the actual encyclical
Caritas in veritate of Benedict XVI,
could give a merit?
First of all the actual encyclical recalls
that the politics in general,
which any kind of political dynamics
may not manage itself and
consider itself in a self sufficient way,
in a perfectionist way.
We would say,
in the wake of great Christian politicians,
especially like Alexis de Toqueville,
or Antonio Rosmini,
any kind of political system
which base itself on the idea of
realize only through the political dynamics
of the social and human ideas,
must necessarily end in structures
which the mentioned authors
have determinate like despotic structures,
or totalitarian structures.
A politics, then, must direct to values,
must direct to values,
it’s not the politics
which creates the dimension
of the social justice,
and the values of the cohabitation.
No. The politics finds itself
returned to that individual who
is the person
together with its values of person,
is at the basis of the society.
In this sense, Rosmini has formulated
that the person is the law.
The law, the management of the society,
is not something which
the politics creates,
of it’s own competence,
but which has to recognize
and the politics has to regulate,
like Rosmini said,
the ways of the rights,
the ways of the cohabitation.
Any kind of system which overtakes,
which bypasses this conscience,
ends like I said,
in structures which no more
recognize enough the dignity
and the value of
the individual and the person.
This is a dimension which
the social doctrine of the Church
and the current encyclical underline
a lot and this dimension
directs to the politics as such.
First of all, but like this
also gives an aid
and classical Christian parties
to rediscover once again
that heritage on which they're based themselves.
Other dimensions would be,
obviously the dimension of the family,
the dimension of the civil society,
all the dimension which
is lived a live relation
based on the society
a living relation where also this,
the politics, can not create,
without becoming despotic.
These relations are borned
inside the family,
are borned inside the religious communities,
are borned especially inside the Christianity.
That’s why the encyclical
strongly underlines for the current politics,
the fundamental values of the religion
and the family,
of recognizing these environment
like the environment which
the politics may not administrate as it wants.
Like I said before,
it’s not the politics which creates
the justice in this sense,
but together with the justice,
only by recognizing that at the basis
of the society there are communities
which together with their relations
create a human value,
create, we would say today,
a human capital of the society,
which exactly the same politics
can not produce and,
if they presumed to produce it,
it would become,
like I have mentioned
the authors before, despotic.
This is the message which
the current encyclical strongly
throws at the politics and counts
a lot on the parties,
particularly then of Christian inspiration,
but also all other types,
to get inspired
by these principles which,
at the end, are principles which
recognize the human dignity
at the basis of our society.