New Polity It's 2025. It's Time for Catholic Social Teaching
Jul 3, 2025
Conversation about reviving Catholic social teaching as a political resource in 2025. They discuss the cultural crisis, loss of identity, and a conservatism that has abandoned Christianity. Technology and AI are flagged as existential threats to human agency. Emphasis on reclaiming authority, subsidiarity, and lay formation to articulate a rooted, theological political vision.
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Power And Hierarchy Are Central Not Taboo
- Power, authority, and hierarchy are central to Catholic social teaching and were downplayed in mid-20th-century reception.
- Andrew Jones emphasizes analyzing forms of power: when they're justified, violent, or compatible with human ends.
Subsidiarity Provides Rooted Identity And Agency
- Rooted identity via subsidiarity counters atomizing modern equality while preserving dignity and effective participation.
- Alex Denley links hierarchy and subsidiarity to offering people meaningful social roles and resistance to mass anonymity.
Root Identity In Justice Solidarity And Freedom
- A healthy cultural identity requires rooting in justice, solidarity, and freedom, not xenophobic reaction or universalizing imperialism.
- Andrew Jones cites John Paul II's Solidarity as a model: cultural rootedness enables dialogue without imperializing claims.