Faith in Britain

Manchester School free market economics it suits the twentieth century free marketeers to lay claim to the Gladstonian mantle, they conveniently overlook Gladstone's belief that we are more than mere individuals.

The Christian Democrat thinkers, Jacques Maritain and Emmanuel Mounier, developed the ideas of personalism which in the 1930s began to link the disparate Christian Democratic movements of Europe. Maritain coined the phrase 'theocentric humanism' to underline basic respect for human dignity which permeates their political ideas. Personalism made possible an awareness of the anthropological and political limits of the contrasting historical models of individualism and socialism. More and more people are recognising that individualism alone is not enough, and that State domination is deeply corrosive of human dignity. An approach which emphasises the rediscovery of the meaning of the person and a new justification of what it means to be human provides a political language and praxis which goes beyond the old models.

This view of people emphasises the need for responsibility for critical self-analysis and examining institutions. Personal responsibility should lie at the heart of our claim to share in political power. This must hold true in democratic organisations, in professional associations and trades unions, and in faithful service to the vulnerable and needy. Hence, the whole concept of a Charter for Human Responsibility, being outlined in these pages.

Because of a basic antipathy towards regimentation, uniformity and oppression which can happen when the State, the Church, a Party or an economic bloc accumulates too much power and becomes dominant - the human personality needs to be enabled to share in power and responsibility. These are the principles of subsidiarity and autonomy.

The Dutch Christian Democrat, Arie Oostlander, MEP, in Politics Based on Christian Consciousness1 argues that 'the basic disposition of Christian-Democracy is anti-totalitarian and has developed two related and complementary societal structural principles, namely those of subsidiarity and autonomy'. What does this mean and how might it work out in practice?

Subsidiarity is a concept which comes from Catholic social teaching and philosophy. It points to the necessity of a division of power and competencies among various bodies at different levels. The responsibilities of the lower levels of government will always have priority. Only when justice, solidarity or effectiveness requires it should matters be determined at a higher level of decision making. This idea is being worked out in practice in Christian base communities.

The Protestant concept of autonomy refers to the necessity of acknowledging the qualitative difference between governmental power and social organisations. So, the State should not therefore subsume areas of society over which it does not need