A Philosophical Happy Hour investigating the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, highlighting key passages and inquiring into their relevance today for considering the future of human society.
Rerum novarum semel excitata cupidine, Pope Leo XII begins his famed Encyclical of 1891, “The desire of new things once having been aroused”, passes beyond the realm of the political order and into that of the economic. The phrase “desire of new things”—oft translated in English as “spirit of revolutionary zeal”—has its roots in Roman antiquity; similar language being found in the works of Cicero, and specifically “rerum novarum cupiditate” in the works of Tertullian. In these authors of antiquity, the phrase referred specifically to the establishment of a new governmental order.
But as Leo here remarks, the establishment of the broadly anti-hierarchical political orders of modernity could not but spill over into the governance of economy. The “new things”—individualism on the one hand, collectivism on the other—found pecuniary expression in laissez faire capitalism and socialism. Great trouble follows. Leo writes:
The elements of a conflict are unmistakable. We perceive them in the growth of industry and the marvellous discoveries of science; in the changed relations of employers and workingmen; in the enormous fortunes of individuals and the poverty of the masses; in the increased self-reliance and the closer mutual combination of the labour population; and, finally, in a general moral deterioration.
On 8 May 2025, the newly elected Pope Leo XIV emerged on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Subsequently, in an interview, he explained his choice of name:
mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.
From this second “industrial revolution”, I would suggest, we see—in addition to the difficulties enumerated by Leo XIII, a new challenge: not only a moral but a cognitive decline. Efforts to redress this collective detriment to thinking may be bolstered by closely reading and learning the lessons we may find in Rerum Novarum.
The Spirit of Rerum Novarum
The year of Rerum Novarum’s promulgation 1891, seems a far distant past. Yet it may signal, nevertheless, the beginning of the era in which we today find ourselves. You may have seen a piece of commonly-shared footage over the past few years, a brief clip of Pope Leo XIII himself, from 1896. Born in 1810, he is the oldest-born person to have ever appeared on film. Res novae, indeed, were appearing in the time of his papacy—not only in politics and economics, but other aspects of life as well.
Yet, although many of the issues facing the world at the time were novel, the principles from which Leo wrote were not, and they remain as relevant today as ever. Thus, in the text of his Encyclical, Leo addresses the right relationship of man to the natural world, and within that, the question of property rights; the relationship between State and family; the role of religion and especially the Church in resolving conflict and providing for man’s needs, spiritual and material alike; the State’s responsibilities in both distributive and retributive justice; and the need of communal organizations independent of government control—among many other issues, including subsidiarity. All of these issues remain relevant today, even under different forms or structures. What Pope Leo XIII sought, in his writing, was not the advance of any political ideology, but rather a rediscovery and application of the principles by which the human being attains harmony with his institutions.
Society of Labor in the 21st Century
Most especially was this need of harmony felt in the questions of labor. Socialism, in particular, had advanced the Marxist theory of class warfare and bred resentment—accelerated by the incredible wealth of industrialists—of the poor towards the rich. Simultaneously, the disparate possession of material goods, education, and status of the wealthy led to disdain for the poor. Increasingly, laborers came to be seen as dispensable instruments.
Today, we face a different but related challenge. As automation and LLM technologies (“artificial intelligence”) begin moving individuals out of the workforce (a movement often compounded by governmental policy), the value even of being an instrument is denied the laborer. How will the individual adjust? Can he? What paths yet lie open for the fitting labor of human persons?
The Future of Humanity
Simultaneously, we face challenges not only in just working opportunities but also in the development of our own minds. As oft-repeated at the Lyceum, the chaos of digital noise threatens not only to mislead us through false information or deceitful narratives, but to undermine the very faculties of thinking themselves. We are at risk of intellectual atrophy. As Pope Leo XIV (then Fr. Prevost) stated in 2012, we cannot turn away from the presence of media—just as we cannot dismantle the industrial—but must instead provide the right formation of the human mind.
In the age of “AI” and the ubiquity of media, how do we restore the right forms for teaching people to think? What are the solutions? How do we confront today’s cupiditas rerum novarum?
Questioning the Relation
This Wednesday (14 May 2025 from 5:45–7:15+ PM ET) we invite you to read Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum and join our Philosophical Happy Hour to discuss the new challenges of our age. Though the entire Encyclical is open for discussion, we wish to draw special attention to paragraphs 1, 7, 22, 35, and 48-50.
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Come join us for drinks (adult or otherwise) and a meaningful conversation. Open to the public! Held every Wednesday from 5:45–7:15pm ET.
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