Evolving Notions of Rights and Responsibilities Relating to Property and Work Relationships

"Living Justice"
by Thomas Massaro

Section 5: Property Ownership in Modern Society: Rights and Responsibilities

This section of the reading tackled the interlaced yet conflicting issue of the common goods and individual ownership. The Catholic Church strong supports the notion that everything in this world is a gift from God to all mankind and should therefore be available to everyone but it is also hard to ignore the benefits that are reaped by individuals who knows how to manage resources wisely. To those individuals, since they alone worked in cultivating and growing the resources, then they alone should be the only one that should get the benefits from it. But we can argue this part once again with the notion that resources are not equally divided. Not everyone worked hard for the fruits of their labor and not everyone has the tools needed for success readily available to them. The Catholic Church then argues that those who are wealthy should not just think of themselves and use the resources in ways that would make other people suffer. I think the main focus of their argument is exploitation. As we have learned in class, during the development of industrialization, exploitation was not necessarily seen as a bad thing. It was merely a necessity for businesses to profit. But as industrialization further progressed, large corporations grew bigger and bigger and labor workers became poorer and poorer. I guess what the Catholic Church wants to point out is that as the beneficiary of exploited and instigator of such poverty, those who are wealthy have the responsibility to help the exploited laborers.

Section 6: The Dignity of Work, Rights of Workers, and Support for Labor Unions

One of the greatest accomplishment during the uprising of industrialization is the development of labor union. With laborers as an organized group, they were able to fight off exploitations such as inhumane work conditions, subpar wages and unreasonable corporate demands. Corporate owners are of course in opposition of the organization and refuse to give power to the people by forming a union amongst themselves and tried to turn the table by saying that labor unions have unrealistic demands. I guess any type of power is vulnerable to abusive use but it's still hard to argue that a laborers can work in an environment that is free of exploitation without a union.

The second part of this section focused on the "need" for work for it give individuals a sense of "purpose". In theological teachings, this was addressed in that, humans are God's co-creators. It also gives people a chance to work with one another which improves human relation. And this is also the reason why laborers should not be seen as a mere commodity but as God's children that should be given opportunity to fully develop their skills and ability.