Allow me to share a quote from an unnamed author that has had a significant influence on the political moment of 2024.
"It has come to pass that working men have been surrendered, isolated, and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of unchecked competition ... To this must be added that the hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself."
It is a pretty safe bet to conclude that the vast majority of people who read that quote will not be able to recognize its author. On its surface, it sounds similar to the language that self-described socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) frequently touts on the campaign trail and in media appearances.
But the old-fashioned nature of the prose doesn't exactly vibe with the senator's Brooklyn style of speaking, which uses words such as "billionaires" and "top 1%." So if it is too old of a quote to be from Sanders, then maybe it is from one of his ideological influences. Someone like Karl Marx, perhaps? After all, the author of the Communist Manifesto infamously focused on the relationship between workers and capital. But the author's rhetoric is not nearly as self-conceited and condescending, not to mention the fact that in a later quote, our mystery author repudiates Marx's explicit call to abolish private property.
"We have further proof that private ownership is in accordance with the law of nature," he wrote. "Truly, that which is required for the preservation of life, and for life's well-being, is produced in great abundance from the soil, but not until man has brought it into cultivation and expended upon it his solicitude and skill."
The title of this seemingly contradictory text is Rerum Novarum, a letter on labor and work by Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903 but lived through the height of the industrial revolution in the latter half of the 19th century. The letter was written at a time when the rapid growth of industrial manufacturing led to the widespread exploitation of workers, many of whom were forced to work in dangerous conditions for little pay.
But why bring it up today? It just so happens that this 1891 document is crucial to understanding a new wave of Republican politicians, among them Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), who is now the Republican nominee for vice president.
Vance, along with Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Marco Rubio (R-FL), have openly discussed how Rerum Novarum and the broader array of writings that are collectively referred to as "Catholic Social Teaching" influence the way they approach economic matters.
In 2019, Rubio made waves in conservative circles by quoting Leo XIII during a speech at the Catholic University of America when he poignantly asked: "Does our country exist to serve the interest of the market, or does our market exist to serve the interests of our nation and of our people?"
Last year, Hawley, who is not Catholic himself, authored an op-ed for Compact that touted the virtues of "Christian Democracy," quoting another letter from Leo XIII.
"Pope Leo chastised the elites of his day for manipulating 'all the sources of supply,' 'labor and trade,' and even 'the administration of the commonwealth' for their personal benefit," Hawley wrote. "That is exactly what today’s ruling class has done. There is no reason for conservatives to throw in their lot with the neoliberal order or make apologies for its overclass in any way."
And in 2019, after becoming Catholic, Vance told the American Conservative's Rod Dreher that his "views on public policy and what the optimal state should look like are pretty aligned with Catholic social teaching."
And all three men have not simply offered empty words. Each has applied his understanding of Christian Democracy and Catholic social teaching to lawmaking. Rubio was among the first Republicans to aggressively campaign on expanding the child tax credit, Hawley has shown a keen interest in antitrust, and Vance has worked across the aisle to introduce bills that would lower insulin prices, regulate the railway industry, and make corporate mergers more difficult. Unsurprisingly, all three men have been consistent supporters of private-sector labor unions such as the United Auto Workers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
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Catholic social teaching has also found its way into the policy world of conservative think tanks. In 2023, the Heritage Foundation, which boasts strong connections to Hawley and Vance, published a lengthy policy paper that discussed Catholic social teaching as a possible answer to conservative critiques of corporate power and big business. It should be noted that the paper was published as part of a diverse range of conservative perspectives and was not an official policy position of the organization. Still, the fact that a think tank with the notoriety that Heritage enjoys was willing to publish such a perspective is a testament to its ascendancy in the conservative movement.
On Wednesday night Vance will deliver a speech at the Republican National Convention as the party's nominee for vice president. And while he is unlikely to invoke Leo XIII by name, the principles of Catholic social teaching on labor and the economy will undoubtedly still inform his views as he makes the case to the nation that his running mate, former President Donald Trump, should sit behind the Resolute Desk once more as president of the United States.
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