Search results

1

Krize liberální demokracie a pojem společného dobra

100%

Baroš J.

Studia theologica

|

2018

|

vol. 2

129-149

EN

According to Pierre Manent, an eminent French Catholic political philosopher and a disciple of Leo Strauss, the concept of the common good has lost all its intelligibility in contemporary French society. It has been replaced by an emphasis on the concept of human rights. Human rights as such are not able, however, to serve as a viable basis for a political society. A similar analysis can be found in other Christian authors: for instance, vis-à-vis the crisis of contemporary liberal democracies, the main representatives of the so-called Radical Orthodoxy movement, John Milbank and Adrian Pabst, plead for the return of the politics of the common good. What is missing, however, in the works of these contemporary scholars is a systematic analysis of the concept of the common good as such. Up until now, the most elaborate analysis of this concept was developed by the Catholic scholars, Charles De Koninck and Yves R. Simon, during the 1940s and 1950s. Following their example, the article attempts to elucidate this key concept of political philosophy and Catholic social doctrine. In its first part, after an overview of the two basic meanings of the concept of the common good in Catholic social doctrine, the article analyzes the different facets of De Koninck´s magisterial treatise on the common good. Due to the many more metaphysical interests of De Koninck, the article argues that his concept of the common good must be supplemented by the much more politically focused analysis of Yves R. Simon. This eminent Thomist emphasized the connection between the concept of the (political) common good with the possibility of common action. The article finally offers a thorough reconstruction of the foundations of this neglected tradition of political thought which paradoxically could be seen as an (at least partial) possible cure for the current crises of liberal democratic political regimes.

2

Katolické výhrady vůči liberálnímu chápání svobody a sociálního řádu

100%

Baroš J.

Studia theologica

|

2021

|

issue 2

79-100

EN

This article is a contribution to the recurrent debates on the (in)compatibility between Catholic and liberal tradition. It focuses on the differences between these traditions concerning their conceptual foundations: liberty and, more extensively, social order. In the first part, the article characterizes the most important doctrinal elements of liberal and Catholic political theory. In liberal tradition, the emphasis is upon normative and ontological individualism and the primacy of individual liberty. Catholic social ontology offers a rich understanding of social order where it differentiates between partnerships and communities. This is linked to the specific conceptualization of the common good which is more robustly conceived than in its liberal counterparts. In the second part, the article delineates the different meanings of liberty in contemporary liberal political theory. It demonstrates that the Catholic tradition unambiguously prefers the positive concept of liberty. Next, it dialectically moves to the concept of autonomy. Some versions of autonomy are closer to the Catholic tradition than others, but overall, the Catholic conception is based on a richer metaphysical foundation that links liberty with participation in the common good. The article culminates with D. C. Schindler’s metaphysical criticism of the basic building blocks of liberal thought, which explains the reasons why the liberal conception of the common good cannot accommodate its Catholic counterpart.

3

Subsidiarita: od teoretického konceptu k praktické zkušenosti

100%

Baroš J.

Studia theologica

|

2017

|

vol. 2

1-22

EN

According to the pre‑eminent Anglican theologian John Milbank, if Christians do not think about politics in disconnection from their faith, they come up with similar conclusions. The article argues that a specific social ontology and unique anthropology underlies this Christian vision of politics. In its first part, primarily following the work of the American Thomist Russell Hittinger, the article demonstrates how this specific social ontology is inherent to the Catholic social doctrine. It discusses the Catholic understanding of group personality and civil society in contrast to liberal thought. In its second part, in line with the political experience of the richest Italian region Lombardy, the article delineates a specific anthropological vision, which has influenced various policies of the so‑called Lombardy‑model. In contrast to both liberalism, and statism, the theoreticians of Lombardy emphasized the positive anthropology of human beings. Lombardy consequently attempted to respect the plurality of social forms which can be found in society in its (social, health-care, educational) policies. The article demonstrates how one of the fundamental principles of the social doctrine of the Church, the principle of subsidiarity, can become the basis for several political experiments by the Lombardy government.

Refine search results

3 Studia theologica

3 Baroš J.

1 2021

1 2018

1 2017

Krize liberální demokracie a pojem společného dobra

Katolické výhrady vůči liberálnímu chápání svobody a sociálního řádu

Subsidiarita: od teoretického konceptu k praktické zkušenosti