Our common home belongs to all generations

Abstract

The defence of the weak members of society from the socio-political and economic forces which, in one way or another, have threatened their fundamental human rights, has been at the centre of the church’s social teaching. The body of “social wisdom” on socio-economic, political, cultural and environmental matters which has developed in a rich fashion especially during the last one hundred years or so spells out the church’s deep concern for “the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties, of ... those who are poor or in any way oppressed.” Christian social ethics is by no means a static collection of doctrinal social statements. Rather, it is a collection of social values and principles which are proactively applicable to the new challenges of the day. One may conclude that modern Christian social thought is characterised by three distinct perspectives. During the pre-conciliar era, the main concern of the church was how to resolve the conflict between advantaged and disadvantaged individuals or classes. Many workers and their families became poor, vulnerable and powerless as a result of the socio-economic and political structures created by the industrial revolution. Both Liberalism and Collectivism, as expressed in selfish capitalism and manifested in the theory of socialism, were vehemently criticized because they were an obstacle to the full and authentic development of the worker. [excerpt]