Labor Day and Catholic Social Thought

Labor Day offers a great opportunity for us to reflect on the Catholic social tradition. The condition of labor, and the economic and social structures surrounding it, prompted Leo XIII to write the first social encyclical, Rerum Novarum in 1891. Subsequent developments, not just in magisterial teaching, but in the living tradition of Catholic social teaching, continued to defend the dignity of work and rights of workers. Just this year, Leo XIV addressed the rapidly changing context of work in the age of artificial intelligence in his first social encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.

The context has changed but the core concerns and principles for action are consistent. During the Industrial Revolution, Leo XIII advocated for the protection of factory workers and defended their right to a living wage and safe working conditions. Today, facing the possibility of widespread unemployment as artificial intelligence transforms multiple industries, Leo XIV defends our right to work, not just as a way to make money, but as a way to express our dignity and participate in the common good.

Work provides a fruitful point of entry to understand the particular approach to social justice that Catholic social teaching puts forward and the theology that supports it. Laborem Exercens, written by Pope John Paul II in 1981 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first social encyclical, differentiates the objective dimensions of work from the subject doing the work. The person as a subject has value beyond measure and should never be treated as an object. Independent of the type of work, what is produced, or the profit it generates, the dignity of work flows from the person. Pope Leo echoes this view when he writes, “work is not simply an instrument; it expresses and enhances the dignity of our lives” (Magnifica Humanitas, 149).

Work is one way we contribute to and participate in the common good. Pope Leo XIV reminds us that the common good, in Catholic social teaching, is a “non-negotiable value” (Magnifica Humanitas, 59). At the heart of Catholic social teaching, the common good refers to the conditions that allow inclusive and integral flourishing of all people and the earth. Realizing the common good necessitates a preferential option for those who are marginalized or made vulnerable by injustice. Pope Leo demonstrates this preferential concern in Magnifica Humanitas when he lifts up migrants, people living in poverty, and victims of violence.

At the heart of Catholic social teaching is a call to solidarity, rooted in the belief that all of creation is interconnected. Pope Francis insisted that solidarity is not a fleeting feeling or isolated act of generosity. Echoing previous Catholic social teaching, Francis describes solidarity as a moral virtue that orients us toward the common good (Fratelli Tutti, 114). This Labor Day, we might all ask ourselves how we can enact solidarity with workers. This might be through the concrete decisions we make as consumers and voters. It might be through pausing to acknowledge the person behind the counter or next to us in the office — in all their humanity, humanity that cannot be replaced.

Erin Brigham, PhD
Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Social Thought and the Ignatian Tradition, University of San Francisco