According to the former French socialist prime minister Guy Mollet, the Christian democratic movement as a political force “should not exist at all” because of the significant heterogeneity of its social composition: a combination of both employers and workers. However, it is precisely this diversity that is the secret of success and one of the strongest points of Christian democracy, which retains the ability to gain support from all social groups.
When elections to the Bundestag were held in Germany in December 1990 for the first time since the country’s reunification, the CDU/CSU bloc won the support of the electorate, which in sociological terms corresponded to the demographics of all social groups and classes. Such cross-class Christian democracy persists in other countries, including Latin America.
Such values of Christian democracy as responsibility, which implies the priority of the common good, subsidiarity, which implies that the state authorities should not interfere in the affairs of local communities without asking for such assistance, and solidarity based on the principle of “One for all, all for one” are the basis of Christian democratic social policy.
It is complemented by respect for work and its results, social justice, and a social market economy. The latter is an invention of Christian democrats. According to its principles, economic policy should be regulated by the state, not just by the laws of the market. The state should support not only large corporations, but also the middle class and small owners. The redistribution of social resources should be aimed at supporting the most socially vulnerable groups in society. The state should stimulate the disappearance of poverty.
Christian democrats build their social policy on the basis of a welfare state, morality, and respect for human rights, which is perceived as a being created in the likeness of God.
The most important tasks of Christian democratic socio-economic social policy include:
– protecting citizens from poverty and creating conditions for a decent life for all;
– creating groups of solidarity and mutual assistance, as one person cannot cope with social challenges alone;
– maintaining social balance, social peace and support for justice.
The left likes to maintain the myth that they have a monopoly on protecting the rights of workers and the working class, but a significant role in this belonged to Christian trade unions and the Church, which worked quietly to improve the situation of employees, avoiding propaganda of class hatred.
Social policy in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and other countries where Christian Democrats have been in power demonstrates the creation of high-quality living conditions for human and social development and well-being.
Author: Valeriy Maydanyuk
