Ah. But you wonder, what is subsidiarity? And what does that big satellite transmitting dish have to do with it?Subsidiarity: a Negative Form: "It is an injustice, a grave evil and a disturbance of right order for a larger and higher organization to arrogate to itself functions which can be performed efficiently by smaller and lower bodies."Yes, the idea is as old as Moses, or as the ancient Roman army, and it has been part of "Catholic Social Teaching" since 1891. But in 2000, a computer system began running: a system for managing satellite transport of spots for local ad insertion on cable television. That system was an implementation of Subsidiarity. It was both successful and efficient, and though the cable TV world has changed, the ideas which underlie that system are still present and active, and deserve to be considered - and put to use.
-- Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno 5 (1931)
Subsidiarity: a Positive Form: "A community of a higher order ... should support a community of a lower order in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good."
-- John Paul II, Centesimus Annus 48 (1991)
Subsidiarity in ten words or less: "Let’s not make a Federal case out of this."
-- an American epigram
The Golden Rule of Subsidiarity: "Be as ready to assist others as you would want them to be ready to assist you."
This book has three main parts:
1. I give some background to the idea of Subsidiarity.
2. I explain the system in which I implemented Subsidiarity.
3. I examine three other systems in which Subsidiarity can (or does) play a role, and make some concluding remarks.
There is also some appendix material. You can use the "table of contents" below, or the archive at the right.
I hope you find it useful, and look forward to discussing any issues arising from the topic. And if you would like to see it published, we shall arrange a meeting.
Paradoxically yours,
Doctor Thursday
Table of Contents
Author's ForewordPart I: An Introduction To Subsidiarity
I.1 Introduction
I.2 Some History
I.3 The Modern Era: Catholic Social Teaching
Glossary
20 comments:
Oh how for your sake I wish it were published in book form, but for the sake of the common good I'm pleased that it will be publicly available.
You never know, Rick. And if there is a book someday, it will have more than what you'll read here.
But I think the Martins of November would approve of this idea, as well as the other Authorities on the matter!
Is there any part of the book that discusses subsidiarity in the U.S. Constitution and how it is being violated?
Congratulations, Dr. Thursday, on the widespread dissemination of your wonderful work. May it go out into the world and do good...
I think that you make a lot of good points in this book. Something that i was wondering as I read was "What if I don't follow the rules of Subsidiarity?" I kept thinking to myself "What if I disagree with the people that are suppose to be higher than me or my boss?" Should I do what I think is right or should I just let them do their job? I think this is also something that you should touch on. I don't think you should always follow the rules if you think they are wrong.
My junior theology class will be posting their comments today. I am looking forward to their intelligent commments.
Your description of subsidiarity as a paradox explains the idea well. Subsidiarity asks that people unite to share with and support each other, while it also forms a barrier that separates the group’s functions and obligations.
I think this is a great article and it shows good points on subsidiarity. You not only showed how it was developed in Religion,but also transformed into many different uses for certain subjects, like television.
The definition that you gave of subsidiarity was helpful and you explain your points very well. Also the way you relate it to television makes the concept a lot easier to comprehend.
You are exactly right that subsidiarity is showing up more and more, just the other day i was watching spongebob and they mentioned something about it. Because in every episode squidward acts like he is more of an authority figure to spongebob. spongebob tried convincing squiward to eat a krabby patty, but of course squidward refused since he believes spongebob is lower than him. Then of course squidward gives in and tries a krabby patty and thinks it is amazing. This proves that just because a person is considered a higher authority does not mean they know better than the lower authority. Both lower and higher authorities have their own opinions, one could be better than the other. But in the end it was an offer squiward could not refuse.
I think the depiction of the use of subsidiarity in battle was a prime example, but also pointed out an important aspect that some people may overlook. The soldiers on the first line, the lower, less effective soldiers were put on the line first, so in a sense, they sacrificed themselves so that the third line, the most experienced roman soldiers, would most likely not have to engage in battle. Likewise though, it states that with the derivation of the word through the years, the third line was there to assist the lines ahead of them. It is almost like overall, both ends of the spectrum are in unison and in need of one another. This just shows derivation of the term over the years.
I agree with you when you say that subsidiarity is a lot more common now. It is just as important now as it was in the past though. I like how you relate a lot of things to religion. It makes it interesting. I like reading the bible passages and relating them to subsidiarity.
I agree with you when you say that subsidiarity is about assistance, not authority. I think that most of the time authority provides assistance, but sometimes people with authority forget that they need to provide assistance.
I really like reading this blog. It really talked about subsidiarity and how important it is. I also liked how you talked about how it is starting to show up more and more in our society. It is something that we face in our daily lives.
I like that it is written so technical, but you can still break it down and say quite simply subsidiarity is… well done. I like your use of examples too (like the military); they help make a good visual and help me to understand the principle of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is everywhere, but sometimes I think we fail to notice it.
Kevin says Subsidarity can be seen as a support system. People need to do their job and support each other. When people work together while respecting other people's duties the support system could produce significant results.
This is Liz not Mandi, I'm just using her computer:
I agree with the quote, “A community of a higher order…should support a community of a lower order in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good.” To me this makes sense because in order for any projects to be completed the higher order has to receive help from the lower order for operations to run smoothly and efficiently. No one person can accomplish big tasks, they need help from others.
I'd like to thank you for writing this very interesting article on subsidarity. I like to think about it in terms of Jesus; where the higher authorities were violating the subsidarity laws in all that they were doing, while Jesus, who at the time was a lower authority, carried on doing everything he believed in.
Thank you again, sir.
I think this article was very interesting, I really like what subsidarity is to you. I feel like I was more understanding of subsidarity after reading how you can relate it to television.
p.s. Hope you get published
I find it interesting how you describe subsidiary as an organized way to reach goals through assistance. I like how you link the higher and lower levels of assistance in order to create a right order to achieve most goals. From the readings in your book it seems like subsidiarity is used as a way to achieve goals by the help of both higher and lower levels.
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