An interpretation of Pope Leo XIII's response to the challenges of the modern world - an attempt to balance a firm attachment to Permanent Things with a prudent adaption to modern politics. Leo's balancing act produced an eclectic combination of Thomistic natural law, Suarez's 'transfer theory of power' that permits a variety of legitimate regimes, including republics and monarchies, Locke's theory of a natural right to property that serves the common good, and a notion of the rights and dignity of the human person that includes Kantian and Christian ethical ideals and points toward Catholic personalism. I conclude by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of this synthesis.
An interpretation of Pope Leo XIII's response to the challenges of the modern world - an attempt to balance a firm attachment to Permanent Things with a prudent adaption to modern politics. Leo's balancing act produced an eclectic combination of Thomistic natural law, Suarez's 'transfer theory of power' that permits a variety of legitimate regimes, including republics and monarchies, Locke's theory of a natural right to property that serves the common good, and a notion of the rights and dignity of the human person that includes Kantian and Christian ethical ideals and points toward Catholic personalism. I conclude by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of this synthesis.
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