The Principle of Subsidiarity

By Father William J. Byron, S.J.

The great social encyclical Quadragesimo Anno (issued by Pope Pius XI in 1931 on the 40th anniversary of the publication of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum) refers to subsidiarity as "that most weighty principle, which cannot be set aside or changed, [and which] remains ... fixed in social philosophy" (#79). This is a social principle that serves to keep government in its place and points to the importance of private voluntary associations.

It is wrong, this principle would say, for a higher level of organization to perform any function that can be handled effectively and efficiently at a lower level of organization by those who are closer to the problem and closer to the ground. This is a solid democratic principle, a safeguard against both left-wing collectivism and right-wing totalitarianism. Oppressive governments are always in violation of the principle of subsidiarity; overactive governments frequently violate this principle.

This is not to say that no government is the desirable goal; nor does it suggest that big government is never justified. The Social Security Act of 1935 was a "big government" initiative that showed then and continues to display a respect for the principle of subsidiarity.

A major new monument in Washington, D.C. frames the years of the Great Depression in sculpture and inscriptions related to the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The FDR Memorial occupies seven open-air acres of land near the Tidal Basin; the designer created four architectural "rooms" that represent each of the four terms of FDR’s presidency. In the section dedicated to the second term, 1937-40, one of the sculptures depicts a breadline — five bronze figures of men with overcoat collars turned up, eyes and hat brims turned down, shoulders bent as they line up against the brick wall of a soup kitchen, waiting for the door to open.

Each time I’ve visited this place, I’ve seen tour buses unloading platoons of school kids. The youngsters invariably move toward that breadline and insert themselves between the bronze figures to pose for their souvenir snapshots. The irony is striking, but the children rarely, if ever, notice it, and teachers all too often fail to point it out.

The sculptured figures represent the great-grandfathers of these children of affluence. These fun-loving kids would not have the health, wealth, education, economic security, and long life expectancy that they take for granted had not government, in the form of Social Security and other strong executive and legislative initiatives, stepped in to do something during the Great Depression to combat poverty and protect the elderly, the disabled, and the survivors of breadwinners who lost their lives.

The fact is that no individual or group, no lower levels of governmental or private organizations could have done what Social Security began to do in 1935.

But here we are in the new millennium. Both government and private sector initiatives are still necessary. Needed also are private voluntary associations. The principle of subsidiarity is still necessary if higher levels of decision making are to be kept from overreaching and from crushing those below.

Individuals often feel helpless in the face of daunting societal problems — homelessness, hunger, addiction, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment. But individuals also pay taxes. With all due regard for subsidiarity, the governmental entity that collects those taxes can help the conscientious citizen "do something" about those problems by applying government resources, effectively and efficiently to meet major social problems that would otherwise go unattended.

Subsidiarity calls for justice and responsibility at all levels. It applies, I should also note, to church as well as state, and to family as well as to the organizations where family members earn their living or get their education.

Jesuit Father William J. Byron is an economist and ethicist who teaches at Georgetown University.