Christian democracy
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Christian democracy is a political ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics.[1][2]
Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching[3][4] and neo-scholasticism,[5][6][7] as well as the Neo-Calvinist tradition within Christianity;[8][9] it later gained ground with Lutherans and Pentecostals,[nb 1] among other denominational traditions of Christianity in various parts of the world.[nb 2][11] During the nineteenth century, its principal concerns were to reconcile Catholicism with democracy,[6][7] to answer the "social question" surrounding capitalism and the working class,[12][13] and to resolve the tensions between church and state.[14][15] In the twentieth century, Christian democrats led postwar Western and Southern Europe in building modern welfare states and constructing the European Union.[16] Furthermore; in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, Christian democracy has gained support in Eastern Europe among former communist states suffering from corruption and stagnation.[17][18]
On the European left-right political spectrum, Christian democracy has been difficult to pinpoint, as Christian democrats have often rejected liberal economics and individualism and advocated state intervention, while simultaneously defending private property rights against excessive state intervention.[19] This has meant that Christian democracy has historically been considered centre-left on economics and centre-right on many social and moral issues.[20] More recently, Christian democrats have positioned themselves as the centre-right; as with both the European People's Party and European Christian Political Movement, with which many Christian democratic parties in Europe are affiliated.[21] Christian democrats support a "slightly regulated market economy", featuring an effective social security system,[22] a social market economy.[23]
Worldwide, many Christian democratic parties are members of the Centrist Democrat International. Examples of major Christian democratic parties include the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal, the Centre in Switzerland, the Spanish People's Party, the Mexican National Action Party, the Austrian People's Party, and the Christian Democratic Party of Chile.[24] Many Christian democratic parties in the Americas are affiliated with the Christian Democrat Organization of America.[25]
Christian democracy continues to be influential in Europe and Latin America, although it is also present in other parts of the world.[26]
As a generalization, it can be said that Christian democratic parties in Europe tend to be moderately conservative and, in several cases, form the main conservative party in their respective countries (e.g., in Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Switzerland), such as the Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland, the Christian Social Party, the Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland and the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland. By contrast, Christian democratic parties in Latin America tend to vary in their position on the political spectrum depending on the country they are in, being either more left-leaning,[27][28] as in the case of the Christian Democratic Party in Chile, or more right-leaning, as in the case of the National Action Party in Mexico. Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood have noted that "Christian democracy has incorporated many of the views held by liberals, conservatives and socialists within a wider framework of moral and Christian principles."[29]
Christian democrats are usually socially conservative[30] and generally have a relatively skeptical stance towards abortion and same-sex marriage, although some Christian democratic parties have accepted the limited legalization of both. They advocate for a consistent life ethic concerning their opposition to capital punishment and assisted suicide.[31][32] Christian democrats have also supported the prohibition of drugs.[nb 3] Christian democratic parties are often likely to assert their country's Christian heritage and explicitly affirm Christian ethics rather than adopting a more liberal or secular stance;[nb 4] at the same time, Christian democratic parties enshrine confessional liberty.[36] Christian democracy fosters an "ecumenical unity achieved on the religious level against the atheism of the government in the Communist countries."[nb 5]
Christian democrats' views include traditional moral values (on marriage, abortion, prohibition of drugs, etc.),[38] opposition to secularization, opposition to state atheism, a view of the evolutionary (as opposed to revolutionary) development of society, an emphasis on law and order, and a rejection of communism.[37][10] Christian democrats are open to change (for example, in the structure of society) and not necessarily supportive of the social status quo, and have an emphasis on human rights and individual initiative. A rejection of secularism and an emphasis on the fact that the individual is part of a community and has duties towards it. Christian democrats hold that the various sectors of society (such as education, family, economy, and state) have autonomy and responsibility over their sphere, a concept known as sphere sovereignty.[39] One sphere ought not to dictate the obligations of another social entity; for example, the sphere of the state is not permitted to interfere with raising children, a role that belongs to the sphere of the family.[39] Within the sphere of government, Christian democrats maintain that civil issues should first be addressed at the lowest level of government before being examined at a higher level, a doctrine known as subsidiarity.[22] These concepts of sphere sovereignty and subsidiarity are considered cornerstones of Christian democracy political ideology.[40]
Christian democrats emphasize community, social justice, and solidarity, alongside supporting a welfare state, labor unions, and support for regulation of market forces.[41] Most European Christian democrats reject the concept of class struggle and instead prefer co-determination,[42][43] while US Christian democrats support a distributist economic system containing widespread distribution of productive property, in particular increased worker ownership (workplace democracy) and management (workers' self-management) of their production.[44][45][46]
The Christian democratic welfare state aims at supporting families and often relies on intermediary institutions to deliver social services and social insurance, often with the support of the state.[47]
Christian democrats support the principle of stewardship, which upholds the idea that humans should safeguard the planet for future generations of life.[22] Christian democrats also tend to have a conciliatory view concerning immigration.[48]
No single author has been recognized by all Christian democrats as the leading Christian democratic thinker, but Jacques Maritain comes closest.[49] Thus, in terms of impact, he is in no way akin to Karl Marx, Edmund Burke, or John Locke.[49] Other authors critical to forming Christian democratic ideology include Pope Leo XIII,[50] Pope Pius XI,[51] Emmanuel Mounier,[52] Heinrich Pesch,[53] Abraham Kuyper,[54] and Luigi Sturzo.[55]
General inspiration
Neo-scholasticism
Christian democracy can trace its philosophical roots to Thomas Aquinas and his thoughts on Aristotelian ontology and the Christian tradition.[5] According to Aquinas, human rights are based on natural law and are defined as the things humans need to function correctly. For example, food is a human right because, without food, humans cannot function properly. Aquinas affirmed that humans are images of the divine, which follows human dignity and equality; all humans are equal because they all share that nature.[56] Aquinas also affirmed the natural reality of family and household, based on the lifelong commitment of husband and wife, perfected with children, a unit that has priority over other communities.[57] Aquinas also argued that public power could legitimately appropriate private owners of their resources for the common good when used for people in genuine need.[58] When Leo XIII became pope, he issued the Papal Encyclical Aeterni Patris, which rehabilitated scholastic philosophy.[59] The pope highlighted Aquinas's views on liberty, authority, laws, justice, and charity in this encyclical.[60]
Aquinas's ideas would later be the foundation for the idea of subsidiarity, alongside the ideas that the state is to serve the people and that there is universal solidarity amongst humanity.[61] A significant Neo-Scholastic was Jacques Maritain, who attempted to reconcile democracy and human rights with Thomist natural law.[62] Maritain argued that human rights are based on natural law and that democracy needs Christianity to succeed.[63] Jacques Maritain would use Thomist ideas of property to reduce inequality, arguing that the state should be involved if individuals do not use their property correctly.[64] Jacques Maritain and Emmanuel Mounier would also use Thomist thinking in developing their idea of personalism.[65]
Neo-Calvinism
Another intellectual element of Christian democracy was neo-Calvinism.[8] The neo-Calvinist political ideas relied on John Calvin's ideas of the sovereignty of God and common grace.[66] God's sovereignty was particularly useful in light of the French revolution and notions of individual and state sovereignty.[66] It was the basis of sphere sovereignty, which helped the interests of Reformed Christians, which have historically been a minority. In sphere sovereignty, each sphere has its activity area related to God.[66] Within this view of sphere sovereignty, it was the state's role to pursue public justice.[67] Another element was that life is religious, and politics should reflect this.[68]
Orthodoxy
The development of Orthodox Christian democracy has been held back by the fact that Orthodox Politics has not received church support in the way that Rerum Novarum encouraged Christian democracy, or how early Christian democrats such as Luigi Sturzo received tacit consent for his political activities.[69] Russian Christian democrats, for example, have had to develop a doctrine of democracy.[70]
Christian democracy has developed in countries with Eastern Orthodox majorities in unique and disparate ways. Romania has seen small Christian parties – such as the National Peasants' Party in 1926, which promoted Christian morality, democracy and social justice.[71] In the 1980s, Corneliu Coposu, would affiliate the party with the CDI, and on the fall of Communism, would re-enroll the party as the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party in 1990. This new party advocated market economies with social protection, subsidiarity and citizens liberties. Corneliu Coposu, hoped Romania would become "the Capital of Orthodox Christian-Democracy".[72] In Greece, New Democracy is deemed to be a Christian democratic party – though it often moves back and forth from Christian democracy to liberal conservatism intermittently.[73]
Russian Christian democracy was beset by personality clashes between leaders, and Russian Christian democracy was bifurcated into two ideological camps.[74] The first wanted to import a carbon copy of Western Christian democracy into the Russian political scene, such as the RCDU, CDUR and RCPD.[75] The Christians that make up these groups are not from Orthodoxy themselves – they are newly Orthodox Christians or Protestants.[76] The largest party of the other group was the Russian Christian Democratic Movement, which attempted to unify democracy with orthodoxy on the basis of statism and patriotism (73–74).[77] In practice they acted as democrats or patriots, depending on circumstances.[78] It would gradually move to the right, adopt and ally with orthodox-monarchists and national-republicans.[79] The party would eventually leave the democratic group.[80]
Political thought
Academics have noted a few ideas key to Christian democracy, including personalism,[81][82][83][84] solidarity[81][85] (or some variant of social capitalism[86][87]), popularism[88][89] (or some variant of its catch-all nature[83][90]), notions of "pluralism"[81][91][92] (which in a vertical sense relates to subsidiarity,[93][94] and in a horizontal sense denotes sphere sovereignty)[95][96] and stewardship.[97][98][99]
Personalism
Personalism is a political doctrine generally linked to Emmanuel Mounier.[100] It focuses on the person, their intellect, responsibilities, and value.[101] It stresses that humans are free beings with dignity and political rights, but these rights must be used for the common good.[81] It also stresses that true human freedom is used in line with God's will.[102] It is against the individualist and collectivist notions of humanity.[81] It also stresses that people become full when they are members of their communities.[84] In practical policy, it leads to a few conclusions:
- Human life is sacred and is an end in itself. It is, therefore, against abortion and euthanasia.[103]
- The family unit is an essential part of society and must be defended.[104]
- Traditional gender roles must be respected; this leads to a rejection of same-sex marriages.[105]
- Freedom is not a license for Moral permissiveness.[106]
Personalism has generally been the underlying basis in Christian democracy that leads to human rights, especially in relation to a right to life, a right to family and a right to aid, a right to suffrage, freedom of conscience, and freedom of religion.[107]
Solidarity and social capitalism
The Christian democratic political economy has not tethered itself to one "third way" between capitalism and socialism, but rather various ways between capitalism and socialism.[108] Over time, Christian democrats moved from solidarism to a social market economy.[109]
Initially, many Catholic political movements in the 19th century opposed capitalism and socialism equally, as both were based on materialism and social conflict.[110] Initially, the system that Catholics advocated was one of corporatism, based on bringing back a guild-organized economy.[110][111] The idea was a society where individuals were organized by their economic position.[112] In these corporatist systems, the fathers were the head of families.[112] One of these conceptions was that of Franz von Baader, who advocated for proletariat enfranchisement in the corporatist system.[113] Baader is recognized as the first person to advocate for workplace codetermination.[114] Codetermination would become a key point of unity amongst the Christian democratic trade unions.[115] In the 19th century and early 20th century, the Lutheran social Christians advocated an authoritarian view of corporatism,[116] and the Neo-Calvinist corporatist idea has been credited as an inspiration for the polder system that currently exists in the Netherlands.[117] Many of these corporatisms would advance the idea of replacing the elected parliament with corporative parliament recognizing the various corporate estates of the nation; industrialists, small businesses, peasants, landowners, workers, etc.[117][112] The papal encyclical Rerum Novarum would recognize some of the principles behind corporatism.[118]
The Christian democratic notion of corporatism was found within Heinrich Pesch's solidarism.[53] Pesch's solidarism argued for international solidarity based on shared humanity, national solidarity based on shared nationality, familiar solidarity for family members, and class and cross-class solidarity based on shared interests in the workplace.[119] This latter solidarity focused on occupational associations advancing collective interests, codetermination,[119] and a "third house of parliament" that would advise on economic matters.[120] Heinrich Pesch's idea of corporatism would be a qualified notion of subsidiarity.[120] Pesch's ideas would be influential in the Papal Encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, given that Pesch's disciple Oswald von Nell-Breuning would draft the document.[121][122] Quadragesimo Anno was significant in legitimatizing the push for a corporatist system and subjected it to the notion of subsidiarity.[123] Around this time, corporatism became increasingly prominent among young Catholics frustrated with parliamentary politics[124] and, in many instances, would inspire authoritarian and fascist regimes movements in Austria, France, Spain, Portugal,[123] and Germany.[125][116] Eventually, corporatism fell out of the political debate due to this association with authoritarian and fascist regimes.[126]
Another economic idea within Christian democracy is the social market economy, which is widely influential across much of continental Europe. The social market is an essentially free market economy based on a free price system and private property. However, it supports government activity to promote competitive markets with a comprehensive social welfare system and effective public services to address social inequalities resulting from free market outcomes.[127] The market is seen not as an end but as a means of generating wealth to achieve broader social goals and maintain societal cohesion.[128] The basis of the social market economy is ordoliberalism,[129] or German neoliberalism,[130] an idea related to thinkers such as Walter Eucken, Franz Böhm, Ludwig Erhard, and Alfred Müller-Armack.[131] Ordoliberals viewed the concentration of power as a significant danger to liberty.[132] They desired an economic constitution that would ensure competition in markets and free decisions, where people are uninfluenced by the government.[133] As a result of the economic constitution, this model is mildly corporatist.[134] This model of capitalism, sometimes called Rhine–Alpine capitalism or social capitalism, is contrasted with Anglo-American capitalism or enterprise capitalism. Whereas the Anglo-capitalist model aims to remove restrictions on capitalism and enable individual prosperity, the Rhinish Model embeds the market into the social framework, with the goals of nation-building and of taking care of citizens.[135]
Beginning in the 1980s, European Christian democratic parties have partially adopted "neo-liberal" policies.[136][137] However, Christian democrats in the American Solidarity Party instead adopted distributism. The promotion of the Christian democratic concepts of sphere sovereignty and subsidiarity led to the creation of corporatist welfare states throughout the world that continue to exist to this day.[nb 6] In keeping with the Christian democratic concepts of the cultural mandate and the preferential option for the poor, Christian justice is viewed as demanding that the welfare of all people, especially the poor and vulnerable, must be protected because every human being has dignity, being made in the image of God.[22][139] In many countries, Christian democrats organized labor unions that competed with communist and social democratic unions, in contrast to conservatism's stance against worker organizations. In solidarity with these labor unions, in Belgium, for example, Christian democrats have lobbied for Sunday blue laws that guarantee workers and civil servants a day of rest in line with historic Christian Sabbath principles.[140]
Popularism
Popolarismo (or popularism) is a political doctrine conceived by Don Luigi Sturzo,[nb 7] however in reality this was Christian democracy in the political sphere.[142] The papal encyclical Graves de communi re prohibited Christian democracy to be a political ideology, and so Sturzo used the term popularism instead.[143] Popularism helped European Catholics come to accept democracy,[144] and so the idea has been linked to Christian democratic ideas of democracy,[145] which Sturzo Defined as:
The political and social system resting on the free, organic participation of the whole people in the common good.[146]
Academics have tied the idea of popularism to the way Christian democratic parties encompass sections of the whole population.[147] This results from the inherent religious center allowing cut across class divisions.[148] In realization of this, Christian democratic parties tend to invoke the title "People's Parties".[149] Academic Carlo Invernizzi Accetti links the idea of popularism to proportional representation, pillarization, and consociational democracy.[150]
Pluralism
The Christian democratic notion of pluralism is about how humans are generally embedded in a social framework. John Witte, explaining the origin of Christian democracy, describes pluralism thus:
Both Protestant and Catholic parties inveighed against the reductionist extremes and social failures of liberal democracies and social democracies. Liberal democracies, they believed, had sacrificed the community for the individual; social democracies had sacrificed the individual for the community. Both parties returned to a traditional Christian teaching of "social pluralism" or "subsidiarity", which stressed the dependence and participation of the individual in family, church, school, business, and other associations. Both parties stressed the responsibility of the state to respect and protect the "individual in community".[5]
Sphere sovereignty stresses the horizontal element; social communities have roles they must uphold and certain liberty and autonomy.[96] Here the government had the role of policing the spheres.[96] Subsidiarity is the vertical element,[94] where the state has the role of protecting and regulating the spheres.[151] The state must not interfere if these communities are behaving effectively.[152] This also means that a state can intervene when these communities are not competent.[94] In practice, subsidiarity has been used to justify the creation of international organizations, as higher international authorities need to exist to police nation-states.[153]
Stewardship
The idea of stewardship has traditionally been linked to managerial skills regarding property and income;[154] Stewardship can be found in neo-Calvinist Abraham Kuyper's works, where it relates to a person's responsibilities over what is entrusted to them, especially their property.[155] In Social Catholic circles in the 1970s, stewardship was explicitly linked to environmental matters.[154] Stewardship was found in the first programs of the Christian Democratic Appeal, and from here alongside the works of American bishops, the idea would spread to other Christian democratic parties.[99] They view competent and efficient government as emblematic of a "just steward", which includes just stewardship over environmental matters.[98] Pope Francis took a firm stance on environmentalism in the papal encyclical Laudato Si in 2015.[98] Here, the idea of stewardship comes from the correct translation of Genesis, where God entrusts man with stewardship of the earth.[98]