Evening star., 1949-06-16
LeveIed Incomes Idea
Creeps Info Thinking
OF Many Americans
Rronouneement Of Pope
On Labor, Management
Duties Held Significant
By David Laurence

NJ
By David Laurence
Communistic doctrine-the idea
that. irrespective Of talents or
ability, incomes should be leveled
off-has crept into the thinking
Of many Americans who have
never Joined the Communist party
and would be indignant at the
suggestion that they have any
thing in common with COM
munism.
But 1t Is apparent that So
called cleft wing" philosophy has
been expounded by various labor
union leaders in America who in
one breath attack management's
rights and in another breath Bit
terly denounce communism.
For this reason, the latest pro-
nouncement from His Holiness
Pope Plus XII. on the subject Of
labor and management duties, Is
rather significant. The full text
Of an address by the Pope during
a special audience for delegates
to the Rome congress of the In
ternational Union Of Catholic En-
ployers Associations has been re-
leased by the National Catholic
Welfare Conference here. It Is
an interesting document and It'll
emphasizes particularly the main
points in which Catholic philoso-
ply takes issue with Communist
doctrine.
Aim Of Social Economy.
Thus, the Pope says:
"The proprietor of the means
of Observation-Disclosures he be an
individual, or an association. or
a foundation of workers-must
always remain the master in eco
nomic decisions. within the limits
of public economic law. 1t is OBJ
vious that the share Of the pro-
prietor will be larger than that
of his collaborators; but it follows
that the material well-being of all
the members of the Nation
which is the aim of social econ
omy-obliges him more than the
others to contribute to the in
crease of national assets by
savings"
The Pope also takes this same
occasion to discuss "nationaliza-
ton" programs. declaring that.
while there are certain things
which might legitimately be re-
served to public authority with
out endangering the common
good, this does not mean ma
tionalization for everything.
He says:
"To make naturalization, how
ever, the normal rule for public
organization Of economy would be-
to reverse the order Of things.
The object Of public law is, in fact,
to serve private rights. and not
to absorb them, Economics are
not. by their nature. a state insti-
tuition, any more than any other
branch of human -actiyitynsso On
the, contrary. they are the living
product of the free enterprise of
individuals and of groups Of indi-
viduals freely constituted.
,af Urges Common Effort. m7
Neither would it be correct to
say that all private enterprise
Is, by nature, a society In which
the relations between the collab-
orators. be determined by the rules
Of distributive justice in such
way that all. without distinction
be they owners or not of the
means of production-would have
a right to share in the property. |
or at least In the profits Of the
enterprise.
H"Such q concept starts with the
assumption that all enterprise. by
its nature, comes within the sphere
Of public right. This assumption
is false, whether the enterprise
be constituted in the form Of a
foundation or an association of all
the workers as co-proprietors. or
it be the private property Of an
individual who signs work-con-
tract with his workers: 1t Is
amenable to- the private juridical
order Of economic life"
The Pope makes it clear that
he believes employers and work.
ers are not unreconcilable enc
mics but are collaborators in a
common effort. He stresses their
mutual interest and insists that
workers should have "a fair share |
Of responsibility in the establish |
ment and development Of natienab
economy - and that nowadays
mere than ever when the scarcity
Of capital and difficulties of inter-
national exchanges paralyze the
free flow of expenditure on ma
tional production"
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