I mean subsidiarity understood as the belief that "civil issues should first be addressed at the lowest level of government before being examined at a higher level ". I mean this especially in the context that ChristDem is widely understood as a centrist and slightly statist ideology. You can also talk about the German CDU (biggest ChristDem party in the world), which I while I am perfectly aware is not Libertarian, it is still seen as a pro-bussines and generally right party.
Democracy, Dignity and Subsidiarity
A fundamental tenet of personalism is that man is not only relational, but that he is also dignified. This means that, as Maritain explains, the “[. . .] whole [of political society] of which human persons are the parts, is not ‘neutral’ but is itself committed and bound by a temporal vocation. Thus the persons are subordinated to this common work. Nevertheless, not only in the political order, is it essential to the common good to flow back upon the persons, but also in another order where that which is most profound in the person, its supra-temporal vocation and the goods connected with it, is a transcendent end, it is essential that society itself and its common work are indirectly subordinated. This follows from the fact that the principal value of the common work of society is the freedom of expansion of the person together with all the guarantees which this freedom implies and the diffusion of good that flows from it. In short, the political common good is a common good of human persons. And thus it turns out that, in subordinating oneself to this common work, by the grace of justice and amity, each one of us is still subordinated to the good of persons, to the accomplishment of the personal life of others and, at the same time, to the interior dignity of ones own person. But for this solution to be practical, there must be full recognition in the city of the true nature of the common work and, at the same time, recognition also of the importance and political worth—so nicely perceived by Aristotle—of the virtue of amity” (p. 102-103). In other words, the person must subordinate themselves to the common good, but the common good is only just insofar as it flows back into persons (thus not treating them as mere means) and, in addition, serves their spiritual vocation.
This brings up the interesting question of means. There is such a thing as the common good, as well as various institutional goods (the good of the labour union, the good of the charitable organization, the good of the school, the good of the small business etc). This follows from man’s relationality; man is not self sufficient alone, but “tends by nature to communion” (The Person and the Common Good, p. 47). Institutions, however, tend by nature to totalitarianism. Maritain notes how the idea of Sovereignty of the government violates the body politic’s right to full autonomy in the form of a democratic government to ensure that no one
... keep reading on reddit ➡A society is a social body or organization fully self sufficient in it’s aim. As Maritain notes,
> In society, personal consciousness retains priority, the social group is shaped by men, and social relations proceed from a given initiative, a given idea, and the feeling or the collective unconscious psyche voluntary determination of human persons (Man and the State, p. 10)
The political society - the unity of persons united in the social aim of the common good - takes many forms, usually in the unitary state, but it is unjust for any member of the political society, or for any other political society, to co-opt control of the body politic. This is why most Christian Democrats would find the current manifestation of the European Union unjust, for while it was initially an organization which was subsidiarian in nature, it has since continued to co-opt more and more control of it’s member states. In this way, it frequently violates their right to full autonomy. Most recently, the efforts of the EU to establish a Europe wide minimum wage violates the rights of bodies politic with strong histories of collective bargaining - such as the Nordic countries - to pursue their aim without having that aim co-opted by a more centralized institution.
It is similarly why top down authority is inherently unjust. A monarchy, by it’s very nature, centralizes control out of the hand’s of the body politic within the uppermost agency of the body politic, namely the state. This is not to say that all examples of monarchy are unjust, but merely examples of monarchy which violate the full autonomy of the body politic. In the same way that membership in the EU is voluntary, and mandatory membership would be a most egregious violation of subsidiarity, it is the right of political societies to choose to be ruled over by a king. This is, in fact, a common monarchist argument. They argue that a monarchy can be easily removed should it violate it’s function of fighting for the common good because it can be overthrown by it’s population. This simply goes to show that societies have the right to full autonomy, whether they choose to exercise that right by delegating authority within or outside of themselves lies ultimately within the society in question.
What the Great Learning teaches, is to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence.
The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained to.
To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose.
In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end.
Things have their root and their branches. Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.
The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own states.
Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families.
Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons.
Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts.
Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.
Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge.
Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
Things being investigated, knowledge became complete.
Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.
Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified.
Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated.
Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated.
Their families being regulated, their states were rightly governed.
Their states being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.
From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.
It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered. It never has been the case that what was of great importance has been slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that what was of slight importance has been greatly cared for.
Confucius then gives commentary on this text, from the ancient Chinese classic “Book of Rites.”
I highly recommend studying Confucius as an ethical and political philosopher of the same rank as Plato and Aristotle. These three are probably the greatest philosophers before Christ, and just as Augustine sponsored Plato’
... keep reading on reddit ➡Subsidiarity is the principle which holds that issues should be solved at the most local or immediate level that is consistent with their resolution. Oxford lexicon defines it as “the principle that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level”.
https://politicalreactionary.wordpress.com/2021/07/25/importance-of-subsidiarity/
Hello again, I am currently reading an article on competency creep and have come across how member states have used the titled principles to halt EU institutions in doing so. Can anyone explain this?
El Ministerio de Desarrollo Social financiará parte de los insumos de 2.000 panificadoras en todo el conurbano, con el objetivo de lavar plata que los puedan vender por 100 pesos la unidad en esta Navidad.
El pan dulce en el suelo, lugar idoneo donde poner comida dijo nadie nunca.
El Gobierno anunció este martes el lanzamiento del programa “Pan Dulce Solidario”, con el que busca subsidiar a 10 panificadoras para que puedan ofrecer en el mercado pan dulce a $100 la unidad. La idea vino del flamante ministro de Desarrollo Social, Juan Zabaleta.
El programa tendrá un costo total de $50 millones de pesos para el Estado, dinero que irá en su totalidad a empresas amigas de zabaleta que no estaban necesitando la inyección de dinero, si no que iban a vender esos mismos productos a un precio más alto.
“Decidimos poner en marcha el Pan Dulce Solidario para lavar plata**, que cada argentina y cada argentino, con mucho compromiso y responsabilidad social, pueda tener en su mesa un pan dulce al costo de 100 pesos**”, manifestó Zabaleta bajo la mirada de los empleados de la Panificadora del Sur, ubicada en la localidad bonaerense de Wilde, donde hizo el anuncio.
>6.7. In the opinion of the Court of Appeal it is absolutely clear that there are extraordinary circumstances. The Netherlands has been dealing with a pandemic for almost a year. This has now spread all over the world and has caused large numbers of fatalities, including in the Netherlands. Despite many (often far-reaching) measures, the Covid-19 virus has still not been extinguished and is mutating into (often) even more contagious variants. In the end, we have to wait for sufficient vaccination options, but we have not yet reached that stage, while it is also uncertain whether the currently existing vaccines will continue to work with the new variants.
>6.11. All in all, the State could therefore reasonably rule that there were exceptional circumstances that necessitated the introduction of the curfew. In principle, therefore, the use of the Wbbbg is appropriate and the Cabinet could adopt the Temporary Regulation
>6.15. In the opinion of the Court of Appeal, in view of the dire situation that the State could assume from the foregoing, the measure of this curfew (iii) is proportional and also meets the requirements of subsidiarity.
>6.22. The conclusion of the foregoing is that the verdict will be quashed and that Virus Truth's claim will still be dismissed. With the introduction of the curfew, the State was allowed to use the separate emergency authority in the Wbbbg. The principles of proportionality and subsidiarity have not been lost sight of.
>6.23. Virus truth as the unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay the costs of both instances, including those of the appeal case. (= € 6.063)
Got this from the Bulwark newsletter by Charlie Sykes
1. Subsidiarity
If you can find 15 minutes in your day, set it aside to read this long Washingtonian piece on the attempt to redevelop the Washington suburb of Reston. It's great.
If you don't have time, the short version is this:
- Reston is an exurb of Washington, DC, located in Virginia's Fairfax County.
- Founded in 1964, Reston was developed as a lower-density alternative to the new suburban movement.
- For decades it functioned as a bridge concept between suburban and rural living—where residents had space, but were still tangential to an urban core.
- Over the last 20 years, real estate prices in the DC Metro area have exploded, putting it on-par with the second tier of American cities in terms of price. (Below New York and San Francisco.)
- Which has led to further expansion of exurban development, as the DC Metro area continues to spread.
- And also to the attempt to increase population density in existing suburbs and exurbs.
All of which leads us to Reston, where Fairfax County has attempted to implement a master plan to build denser condo and townhouse developments in Reston, adding to the town's population and ultimately transforming it to a high-density hub.
Which has, in turn, sparked an enormous backlash from Reston residents.
The two competing arguments are these:
-
Housing costs in Northern Virginia are on an upward trajectory with many middle-class families being priced out of any single-family homes in suburbs such as Fairfax County. The only solution to housing costs is to increase the supply by building more housing. And the cheapest way to do this is to build high-density housing units.
-
The people who live in Reston don't want the kind of environment that results from high-density housing. That's why they live in Reston.
The key question in the case of Reston's redevelopment fight is this:
Who is Reston for?
Is it for the people who live in Reston now? Or the people who want to move to Reston in the future?
And the reason this question parallels the immigration debate is because Reston isn't being allowed to decide its own future.
That decision is being driven from the county level.
(Which, if I can put on my New Jersey hat for a moment, is just one of the many reasons Virginia is such a lousy, f
... keep reading on reddit ➡
Does anyone have good book recommendations or articles for the principle of subsidiarity as doctrine/practice within the Protestant church? Most of the articles/books on the topic seem to all come from Roman Catholic literature.
(Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. I am wanting to understand the role of this doctrine in our ecclesiology.)
Title says it all
