Catching Foxes Part Two: CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FIGHT!
This is what happens when one guy had 3 hours of sleep and the other guy is 3 beers in before the conversation starts.
The Quote:
2434 A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice.221 In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account. "Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good."222 Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.
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- Cf. Lev 19:13 - "You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning."
- Deut 24:14-15 - 14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brethren or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns; you shall give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes down (for he is poor, and sets his heart upon it); lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin in you."
- Jas 5:4 - "Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts."
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GS 67 § 2.
"This labor, whether it is engaged in independently or hired by someone else, comes immediately from the person, who as it were stamps the things of nature with his seal and subdues them to his will. By his labor a man ordinarily supports himself and his family, is joined to his fellow men and serves them, and can exercise genuine charity and be a partner in the work of bringing divine creation to perfection. Indeed, we hold that through labor offered to God man is associated with the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, Who conferred an eminent dignity on labor when at Nazareth He worked with His own hands. From this there follows for every man the duty of working faithfully and also the right to work. It is the duty of society, moreover, according to the circumstances prevailing in it, and in keeping with its role, to help the citizens to find sufficient employment. Finally, remuneration for labor is to be such that man may be furnished the means to cultivate worthily his own material, social, cultural, and spiritual life and that of his dependents, in view of the function and productiveness of each one, the conditions of the factory or workshop, and the common good."
Links:
- James 5:1-6 RSVCE - Warning to Rich Oppressors - Come now, - Bible Gateway — James 5:1-6, ***Warning to Rich Oppressors*** 1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you.
- Gaudium et spes | Chapter 3 "Economic and Social Life" — Justice and equity likewise require that the mobility, which is necessary in a developing economy, be regulated in such a way as to keep the life of individuals and their families from becoming insecure and precarious. When workers come from another country or district and contribute to the economic advancement of a nation or region by their labor, all discrimination as regards wages and working conditions must be carefully avoided. All the people, moreover, above all the public authorities, must treat them not as mere tools of production but as persons, and must help them to bring their families to live with them and to provide themselves with a decent dwelling; they must also see to it that these workers are incorporated into the social life of the country or region that receives them. Employment opportunities, however, should be created in their own areas as far as possible.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church - PART 3 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 2 ARTICLE 7 — Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.
- The Good of Politics | Matthew D. Wright | First Things — Ultimately that hope resides in the City of God, but on a temporal plane, Meador aims to ground the Christian social vision in an intentional life shared with family and friends in local communities. He wants us to become attached to particular places and people, with their unique histories, and to enjoy the everyday gifts of nature by imbibing them thoughtfully and thankfully. A soul that is profoundly attached becomes, in turn, open to a sense of wonder. “There is a relationship between enchantment and communal life,” he argues. “Both are premised on the idea that my self is porous and can be penetrated and transformed by the world that exists outside myself.” Thus, local communities are the pathway to social and spiritual renewal, which fortifies the soul against the shallowness of our age and, ultimately, revivifies concern for the common good.