Heinrich Pesch (1854–1926). Social Philosopher and Economist. The Currency of the Idea of Solidarism

Abstract

Fifty years ago on April 1, 1926, to be exact Heinrich Pesch, S. ]., the world's greatest Catholic economist, died at the age of 71. It was an unstable and critical period when he departed this world. A sane plan under which action may be taken toward social peace and public tranquility was urgently needed. Pesch had set forth, clearly and persuasively, the principal socio-philosophical and economic elements on which such a plan or system should be constructed. However, the political climate, tending as it did toward extreme "solutions", was not conducive to the dissemination and acceptance of balanced views. When, on May 15, 1931, the encyclical Quadragesimo anno appeared, Catholic social thinkers and actionists recognized at once in it Pesch's "Solidarism", that had in fact inspired the drafters Frs. O. v. NellBreuning, S.]., and Gustav Gundlach, S. j., close associates of (the late) Fr. Pesch of this papal letter. But one of its guiding conceptions, namely that of a reconstruction of the social economy along the lines of corporate organization and functional representation, never received much more than an academic discussion. For the generation of German Catholics who grew up during the Nazi regime and World War II, Pesch and Solidarism, if they know anything at all about it, are things of the past, hardly more than an interesting event in the history of Catholic social thought. Surely, some five years after his death, his ideas, as was said above, still shone through the encyclical On Reconstructing the Social Order. It is also true that Oswald von Nell-Breuning, S.]., and Gustav Gundlach, S. J., in their writings and lecturing continued to refer to and remind their audiences of their great predecessor. And so did other German Catholic social thinkers. But these discourses seemed to remain somewhat academic, having little if any immediate or practical bea-