Laborem Exercens: On Human Work Barbara Wall, Ph.D. Villanova University May, 2013

Laborem Exercens Written by John Paul II, “The first principle of the whole ethical, social order, namely the principle of the common use of goods” (LE, 19)

Laborem Exercens Central Themes: 1. Significance of work in human self-actualization.  Genesis account of work  Modern philosophical thought of Karl Marx - The concept of “alienated work” is discussed in The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of Labor is privileged over capital

Work & the Mystery of Creation The State of the World in 1981:  The disproportionate distribution of wealth and poverty and the existence of some countries and continents that are developed and of others that are not call for a leveling out and for a search for ways to ensure just development for all. This is the direction of the teaching in John XXIII’s encyclical Mater et Magistra, and the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes of the Second Vatican Council and in Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio. (LE, 2)

Work & the Mystery of Creation The State of the World in 1891:  It is precisely these fundamental affirmations about work that always emerged from the wealth of Christian truth, especially from the very message of the “gospel of work,” thus creating the basis for a new way of thinking, judging and acting. In the modern period, from the beginning of the industrial age, the Christian truth about work had to oppose the various trends of materialistic and economistic thought. (LE, 7)

Work & the Mystery of Creation The State of the World in 1981:  [T]he fact that human work is a key, probably the essential key, to the whole social question, if we try to see that question really from the point of view of man’s good. And if the solution – or rather the gradual solution – of the social question, which keeps coming up and becomes ever more complex, must be sought in the direction of “making life more human” then the key, namely human work, acquires fundamental and decisive importance. (LE 3)

Dignity of Human Work These truths are decisive for man from the beginning, and at the same time they trace out the main lines of his earthly existence, both in the stage of original justice and also after the breaking, caused by sin, of the Creator’s original covenant with creation in man. (LE, 4)

Work as Objective As a person, he works, he performs various belonging to the work process; independently of their objective content, these actions must all serve to realize his humanity, to fulfill the calling to be a person that is his by reason of his very humanity. (LE, 6)

Work in the Subjective Sense This dimension conditions the very ethical nature of work. In fact there is no doubt that human work has an ethical value all of its own, which clearly and directly remains linked to the fact that the one who carries it out is a person, a conscious and free subject, that is to say, a subject that decides about himself. (LE, 6)

Ethical Nature of Work By broadening certain aspects that already belonged to the Old Testament, Christianity brought about a fundamental change of ideas in this field, taking the whole content of the gospel message as its point of departure, especially the fact that the one who, while being God, became like us in all things, devoted most of the years of his life on earth to manual work at the carpenter’s bench. (LE, 6)

Ethical Nature of Work This circumstance constitutes in itself the most eloquent “gospel of work,” showing the basis for determining the value of human work is not primarily the kind of work being done, but the fact that the one who is doing the work it is a person. The sources of the dignity of work are to be sought primarily in the subjective dimension, not in the objective one. (LE, 6)

Ethical Nature of Work If one wishes to define more clearly the ethical meaning of work, it is this truth that one must keep in mind. Work is a good thing for man – a good thing for his humanity – because through work not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human being and indeed in a sense becomes “more a human being.” (LE, 9)

Conflict Between Labor & Capital Principle of Maximum Profit The conflict originated in the fact that the workers put their powers at the disposal of the entrepreneurs and these, following the principle of maximum profit, tried to establish the lowest possible wages for the work done by the employees. (LE, 11)

Conflict Between Labor & Capital Principle of Maximum Profit In addition there were other elements of exploitation connected with the lack of safety at work and of safeguards regarding the health and living conditions of the workers and their families. (LE, 11)

Error of Economicism This consistent image, in which the principle of the primacy of person over things is strictly preserved, was broken up in human thought, sometimes after a long period of incubation in practical living. The break occurred in such a way that labor was separated from capital and set in opposition to it, and capital was set in opposition to labor, as though they were two impersonal forces, two production factors juxtaposed in the same “economistic” perspective. (LE, 13)

Error of Economicism This way of stating the issue contained a fundamental error, what we can call the error of economicism, that considering human labor solely according to its economic purpose. This fundamental error of thought can and must be called an error of materialism, in that economicism directly or indirectly includes a conviction of the primacy and superiority of the material and directly or indirectly places the spiritual and the personal (man’s activity, moral values and such matters) in a position of subordination to material reality. (LE, 13)

Wages & Other Social Benefits There is no more important way for securing a just relationship between the worker and the employer than that constituted by remuneration for work. In every case, a just wage is the concrete means of verifying the justice of the whole socioeconomic system and, in any case, of checking that it is functioning justly. It is not the only means of checking, but it is a particularly important one. (LE, 19)

Wages & Other Social Benefits Besides wages, various social benefits intended to ensure the life and health of workers and their families also play a part here. (LE, 19)

The Rights of Workers Just Wage Health Care Rest Pension Non-harmful Work Environment Association (LE, 19)

Role of Unions Union activity undoubtedly enters the field of politics, understood as the prudent concern for the common good. However, the role of unions is not to “play politics” in the sense that the expression is commonly understood today. Unions do not the character of political parties struggling for power; they should not be subjected to the decision of political parties or have too close a link with them. In fact, in such a situation they easily lose contact with their specific role, which is to secure the rights of workers within the framework of the common good of the whole of society. (LE, 20)

Spirituality of Work Our work is participation in God’s activity.  Co-creation of God’s Justice and Peace  Vocation of Work  Reflection on the Activity of the Week  Need for Restoring Spiritual Energy  Importance of Leisure and Play

Spirituality of Work Awareness that man’s work is participation in God’s activity ought to permeate, as the Council teaches, even “the most ordinary every day activities. For, while providing the substance of life for themselves and their families, men and women are performing their activities in a way which appropriately benefits society. They can justly consider that by their labor they are unfolding the Creator’s work, consulting the advantages of their brothers and sisters, and contributing their personal industry to the realization of history of the divine plan.” (DD, 25)

Spirituality of Work This Christian spirituality of work should be a heritage shared by all. Especially in the modern age, the spirituality of work should show the maturing called for by the tensions and restlessness of mind and heart. (DD, 25)

Rest & Leisure Rest is something “sacred” because it is man’s way of withdrawing from the sometimes excessively demanding cycle of earthly tasks in order to renew his awareness that everything is the work of God. There is a risk that the prodigious power over creation which God gives man can lead him to forget that God is the Creator upon which everything depends. It is all the more urgent to recognize this dependence in our own time, when science and technology have so increased the power which man exercises through his work. (DD, 65)

Sunday: A Day of Rest In order that rest may not degenerate into emptiness or boredom, it must offer spiritual enrichment, greater freedom, opportunities for contemplation and fraternal communion. Therefore, among the forms of culture and entertainment which society offers, the faithful should choose those which are most in keeping with a life lived in obedience to the precepts of the Gospel. (DD, 68)

Sunday: A Day of Rest Sunday rest then becomes “prophetic,” affirming not only the absolute primacy of God, but also the primacy and dignity of the person with respect to the demands of social and economic life, and anticipating in a certain sense the “new heavens” and the “new earth,” in which liberation from slavery to needs will be final and complete. In short, the Lord’s Day thus becomes in the truest sense the day of man as well. (DD, 68)

Sunday: A Day of Solidarity Sunday should also give the faithful an opportunity to devote themselves to works of mercy, charity and apostolate. (DD, 69) Family Meals Visit with Family & Friends Family Outings Sharing Food & Company with Those in Need Letter Writing for Justice

A Culture of Sharing In a moment of encounter and less pressured exchange, we see the true face of the people with whom we live. As the day on which man is at peace with God, with himself and with others, Sunday becomes a moment when people can look anew upon the wonders of nature, allowing themselves to be caught up in that marvelous and mysterious harmony which, in the words of Saint Ambrose, weds the many elements of the cosmos in a "bond of communion and peace" by "an inviolable law of concord and love". (DD, 25)

A Culture of Sharing Far from trying to create a narrow “gift” mentality, Paul calls rather for a demanding culture of sharing, to be lived not only among the members of the community itself but also in society as a whole. (DD, 70) Men and women then come to a deeper sense, as the Apostle says, that "everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” and shared. (DD, 25)