By: Robert K. Vischer
The principle of subsidiarity often stands accused of being
infinitely malleable and unhelpfully abstract, suiting whatever
purposes an actor already has in mind. This essay seeks to
discern the core of subsidiarity’s real-world meaning by
considering its implications for the rebuilding of post-Katrina New
Orleans. Analyzed, as it must be, in light of the web of
Catholic social teachings from which it arises, subsidiarity
reminds “compassionate conservatives” that the meaningful
empowerment of local communities will often be illusory, absent an
active role for the federal government. At the same time,
Catholic social teaching challenges the individualist premise of
modern liberalism by insisting that subsidiarity’s ultimate
objective is not an individual’s achievement of autonomy for
autonomy’s sake, but the facilitation of authentic human
flourishing. In this regard, we must ensure that federal
funding furthers local bodies’ long-term viability and
self-sufficiency. To the extent feasible, the lower body
should take the lead in articulating plans and priorities for a
given community’s recovery, subject to the higher body’s checking
authority, and that authority should itself be grounded in
subsidiarity—that is, it should be exercised with the aim of
fostering the self-sufficiency of local communities.