THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA a Program for a Christian Social Order: the Organic Democracy of René De La Tour Du Pin A
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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA A Program for a Christian Social Order: The Organic Democracy of René de La Tour du Pin A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Joseph F.X. Sladky Washington, D.C. 2012 A Program for a Christian Social Order: The Organic Democracy of René de La Tour du Pin Joseph F.X. Sladky, Ph.D. Director: Rev. Jacques M. Gres-Gayer, Th.Dr., Hist.Dr. René de La Tour du Pin was one of the leading social Catholic theorists during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This dissertation examines La Tour du Pin’s role in attempting to lay the foundations for a more just and representative Christian social order. There is a particular focus on the analysis of his social theories and the examination of the utility and foresight of his many contributions to Catholic social thought. La Tour du Pin was at the helm of Association catholique, the most influential social Catholic journal in late nineteenth century Europe. He was also the secretary and moving spirit behind the Fribourg Union, a multi-national group of prominent and influential social Catholics, whose expertise was drawn upon by Pope Leo XIII in the drafting of Rerum Novarum. Later, some of his ideas found their way into Quadragesimo anno. Through his corporative system he promoted a program which organized society by social function and which gave corporations public legal recognition and autonomy in all areas pertaining to their proper sphere. As this corporative system extended itself into the political arena, it would grant a proportionate, yet real representation to all segments of society by true participation. Concerning sources, I have drawn primarily upon La Tour du Pin’s central work, Vers un ordre social, his articles from Association catholique, and his shorter work Aphorismes de politique social. This dissertation begins with a survey of the historical, religious and socio-economic environment of the nineteenth century. The thought of important thinkers who shaped La Tour du Pin’s views is then examined. This is followed by a brief biography of the thinker’s life. Next, his social theories are investigated and analyzed. His ideas on the family, the Church’s role in society, corporations, decentralization of power, the role of the State, and political representation are comparatively analyzed with the social works of thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. La Tour du Pin’s ideas are also assessed and critiqued by the Church’s social teaching, especially that of the popes. Lastly, his influence on later thought and politics is assessed. This dissertation by Joseph F.X. Sladky fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Church History approved by Jacques Gres-Gayer, Th.Dr., Hist.Dr., as Director, and by Joseph Capizzi, Ph.D., and Claes Ryn, Ph.D. as Readers. ________________________________________ Jacques Gres-Gayer, Th.Dr., Hist.Dr., Director ________________________________________ Joseph Capizzi, Ph.D., Reader ________________________________________ Claes Ryn, Ph.D., Reader ii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND......................................................11 A. Political and Religious Milieu...........................................................................11 1. The French Revolution..................................................................................11 2. The Napoleonic Era ......................................................................................12 3. The Restoration of the Bourbons and the July Monarchy.............................13 4. The Second Republic and the Second Empire...............................................15 5. The Third Republic: The Monarchist Republic.............................................17 6. The Third Republic: The Anticlerical Republic ............................................23 B. Socio-Economic Milieu ........................................................................................25 1. Social Dislocations Caused by the French Revolution.................................25 2. Property Rights ............................................................................................29 3. The Abolition of the Corporations ...............................................................32 4. Liberty of Work ............................................................................................38 5. Situation of Workers and the Response of the Church.................................46 CHAPTER 2. FORERUNNERS IN THE SOCIAL CATHOLIC MOVEMENT............52 A. The Early Pioneers................................................................................................52 B. Louis de Bonald....................................................................................................56 C. Frédéric Le Play....................................................................................................72 D. Charles Périn.........................................................................................................80 iii CHAPTER 3. THE INFLUENCE OF KELLER AND VON KETTELER .....................93 A. Émile Keller..........................................................................................................94 1. Introduction...................................................................................................94 2. Commentary on Quanta Cura and the Syllabus Errorum ............................96 3. Religious Truth: Principle of Religious Liberty...........................................99 4. Social Problems: The Result of Exaggerated Social Liberty.....................104 5. Social Truth: Principle of Social Liberty...................................................110 6. Political Truth: Principle of Political Liberty ...........................................118 B. Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler .......................................................................126 1. Introduction.................................................................................................126 2. Great Social Questions of the Present Time ...............................................130 3. Freedom, Authority, and the Church ..........................................................134 4. The Labor Problem and Christianity..........................................................145 5. Later Works of Ketteler...............................................................................153 6. The Influence of Ketteler.............................................................................161 CHAPTER 4. THE LIFE OF RENÉ DE LA TOUR DU PIN........................................164 A. Portrait of the Man..............................................................................................164 B. The Education of a Young Nobleman ................................................................167 C. A Soldier's Life During the Second Empire .......................................................176 D. The Awakening of a Social Vocation.................................................................189 E. Léon Harmel and the Experiment at Val-des-Bois .............................................195 F. Military Attaché in Austria: The Influence of the Comte de Chambord and Baron von Vogelsang.........................................................................................................199 iv G. De Mun: Defender of the Social Catholic Cause in Parliament.........................207 H. Proceeding to Rerum Novarum...........................................................................213 I. Retirement, Exile, and Death ...............................................................................220 CHAPTER 5. THE SOCIAL THOUGHT OF LA TOUR DU PIN, PART I................224 A. Introduction ........................................................................................................224 B. General Matters...................................................................................................225 1. Individualism...............................................................................................225 2. Original Sin.................................................................................................230 3. –Comparative Analysis ...............................................................................233 4. The Nature of Private Property ..................................................................235 5. The Family Wage ........................................................................................239 6. The Intervention of the State in the Worker Question.................................244 C. The Family..........................................................................................................248 1. The Basic Unit of Society ............................................................................248 2. –Comparative Analysis ...............................................................................248 3. The Indissoluble Nature of Marriage..........................................................251 4. –Comparative Analysis ...............................................................................253 5. Social Hierarchy within the Family: The Authority