The Value-Form

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Abstract
Catholic teaching has always placed great emphasis on the value of work and of workers. Particularly since Pope John Paul II published Laborem Exercens, the philosophical and theological foundation for work's exalted position in Catholic thought is quite clear. Work is the way that human's participate in the Divine task of creation and contribute to the common good. In doing so, the worker enhances his dignity, he becomes more fully human. Work, then, is both a right and a duty. Social policies that deter any person from contributing to the common good through his or her freely chosen avocation is suspect at best. American constitutional jurisprudence once held the right of individuals to contract freely regarding their labor to be fundamental, a liberty interest protected by the Constitution. State and federal laws that interfered with this right were scrutinized closely by the judiciary and frequently invalidated. The excessively individualistic nature of this case law brought it into disrepute when the Great Depression demanded a more communitarian vision. While this natural law strain of constitutional decision-making has been resurrected in the context of non-economic rights, such as the "right" to have an abortion or use birth control, American courts refuse to provide protection for so-called economic rights, including the right to work. The American constitutional value system is wrong and could be well informed by Catholic teaching with regard to rights that are essential to the dignity of persons.

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