The European Christian Democratic Tradition
A neglected Font of Political Wisdom
Nelson R. Gonzalez
July 1, 1996
PRESENTISM," A DANGEROUSLY short historical memory, must be one of the greatest sins of our postmodern moment. This is nowhere more true than in politics, where Christians of all stripes seem keen to reinvent what the communion of saints has already passed on to us. Too often, contemporary activists do not reflect on what is arguably the most coherent, rigorous, and tested body of political and social thought inspired by the gospel: Christian Democracy. In its sources, its contributions to European political life, and its relevance to the United States, Christian Democracy demonstrates that it will be overlooked at the peril of Christians who wish to engage the contemporary challenges and opportunities of public policy and political culture. Faced with two polar responses to the Industrial Revolution, liberal solipsism and socialist collectivism, Christian Democracy's predecessors sought to answer the need for a socially engaged Christianity that worked not for increased charity, but for the very transformation of the political order. This political Catholicism was liberated and inspired to work for the political radicalization of Catholicism with the publication of Leo XIII's revolutionary encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891. In this unprecedented document, the Pope reversed the prohibitions of nom Expedit that kept Roman Catholics from being politically involved, defended the institution of socially responsible private property, and called for social transformation without recourse to the prevailing models of class competition. The labor unions, youth organizations, and cooperatives arising from this politically engaged Catholicism eventually allowed the Christian Democratic movement and its par- ties to emerge in Western ...
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