Solidarity and Subsidiarity

One

Lessons from a Tree House

When my son Xavier was nine he taught me a valuable lesson about two principles central to the Catholic Church’s teaching on justice: “solidarity” and “subsidiarity.”

When he was nine, Xavier wanted to build a tree house. 

I thought he wanted me to build a tree house for him. I can’t build anything. So, I called a friend who came and built the Taj Mahal of Tree Houses. Xavier hated it and refused to go up in it. The next day Xavier got the scraps of wood, saw, hammer, and nails and built a piece of junk on his own in the other tree.

What did I miss? 

Xavier wanted to build a tree house. He wanted to use his freedom, initiative, and creativity to build something and in the process, grow and mature as an individual. He knew he needed help, but he didn’t want me to push him aside and do it for him. 

I left both tree houses to remind me of two principles: Subsidiarity, which means we need to let the individual do what they can so they become responsible and mature – that is subsidiarity – respect the role of the individual. Solidarity, when individuals need help from the community, give them the help they need but don’t do it for them. 

So the Church has articulated two moral principles to stress both the importance of the human individual and the importance of the human community. And those moral principles are the principle of subsidiarity and the principle of solidarity.

Two

Subsidiarity – the good it promotes

The principle of subsidiarity stresses the responsibility and role of individuals and small groups. It recognizes that every person is unique, that every person has a distinct intellect and will. It recognizes that it is the individual who takes initiative and responsibility and creates. It rejects any form of socialism or communism where the higher authority or the Government takes over what the individual should do.

Subsidiarity comes from the Latin for “help” (it’s the same root as the word “subsidy” or “subsidize.”

Subsidiarity is the principle which says that leaders should help those under them do what they can and make their distinctive contribution, but don’t do it for them. 

So, bosses, for instance, should equip their workers to do their particular jobs. Parents should make sure their kids have what they need to do their homework or chores but not do it for them. Governments should make sure that citizens have the opportunities to thrive since that’s the whole point of having a government in the first place, but not take over so that the citizen doesn’t have to take responsibility.

So, actually, the first thing the principle of subsidiarity says to do is for leaders to help those under their authority. But the principle of subsidiarity also warns leaders against trying to help the folks underneath them too much.

Three

What the Principle of Subsidiarity says not to do

So subsidiarity is about helping individuals and small groups take responsibility and initiative and fulfill their distinctive task, and make their unique contributions. But, sometimes leaders try to help so much that they actually get in the way of individuals and small groups doing what they’re supposed to do.

So the principle of subsidiarity also tells you what not to do. It tells you not to micromanage. It tells people in authority that if the individuals or small organizations under them can fulfill their function, do their job, or carve their path in life without your interfering, then let them do it without interfering.

The principle of subsidiarity says you have to trust people and give them space to make their unique contribution and express their unique character.

A company manager shouldn’t stifle his subordinates by micromanaging. The government shouldn’t stifle the economy, or healthcare, or education by micromanaging. A pastor shouldn’t stifle his parish by micromanaging. And a father shouldn’t stifle his kids by micromanaging.

Now, sometimes a parent or boss or government has to intervene to set things right. But that should be the exception, not the rule. That’s the principle of subsidiarity.

Four

The Principle of Solidarity

“Solidarity” means community spirit. 

Solidarity is the principle that reminds us that no man is an island. We all need each other in the community, and we all have to be committed to help one another. It’s what makes one sibling help out another sibling. That’s a mature kid because that kid realizes that he has to be committed to the family’s good.

Solidarity is what makes one colleague help out another colleague at work, even though it’s not technically his job. Because he recognizes that we’re all in this together and that the good of the business depends on the workers having a generous spirit with one another.

Solidarity is when someone with a snow-blower uses it not just to clear his own sidewalk and driveway, but also clears the snow from the other houses on his block. Because they’re his neighbors. 

Solidarity is what prompts one nation to send major relief packages to another nation after a natural disaster. Because we are all part of the human family and we need to act like it.

Human beings need each other. We rely on one another’s generosity and goodwill. And that’s what the principle of solidarity ensures.

Five

Not Individualism and Not Collectivism

In the last hundred and fifty years, the Church has had to fight two horribly destructive ideas of the human person.

One is socialism or communism. This sees humanity as nothing more than a hive, a herd, and it’s led to the violation of countless individual rights and dignities in the name of a faceless “society.”

The Church opposes socialism or communism with the principle of subsidiarity, which says, “No, individuals are important, precious, the source of all our innovation, creativity, and responsibility. You must not attack them. You must give them the tools and the space to let them flourish.”

The other deadly error is individualism, associated more with Western liberalism.

This error sees humanity as nothing but free individuals, and society exists just to let them compete, earn, spend, and do whatever else they want with no restrictions and no thought of anyone else. 

It’s an anti-family mindset, an anti-community mindset, an anti-love mindset. It’s the mindset of Cain, who dared to ask God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

And the Church replies, with the principle of Solidarity, “Yes. You are your brother’s keeper. You have been created in family, in community, in a state of interdependence with the rest of God’s children. So act like it.”

So, let’s remember the lesson of the tree house. We need to let individuals be responsible and do what they can. Don’t do for them what they should do for themselves. Second, always be ready to help your kids, your colleagues, and the people in your community when they need your help. That’s subsidiarity and solidarity.

Every meditation should end with a good resolution. When it comes to my family, workplace, parish, or community, where am I micromanaging when I shouldn’t and where am I acting like a selfish individual. What specifically am I going to do to change?