QUESTIONI SOCIALI. – “Social” is a term in common use, always employed to indicate what relates to society. In the Middle Ages, people spoke of the pactum sociale. When, however, one speaks of “social questions” or of “social sciences,” its meaning is habitually restricted.
I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE TERMS
1. The adjective «social» and related terms. - According to its etymology, «social» is equivalent to «political», the former deriving from Latin and the latter from Greek;and until the eighteenth century everything relating to society was designated as «political». For this reason, when economics began to be treated as a science, it was called political economy. In reality, the adjective «political» has acquired a particular meaning, which distinguishes it both from the term «social» and from the term «economic», and there is now a clear tendency to apply the term «political» exclusively to questions concerning the government of the community; when, instead, reference is made to the common life of the members of the community, the term «social» is used. From this also arises the customary distinction between political democracy and social democracy: the former is a regime in which the entire people participates in power; the latter is an egalitarian society, and its result is a classless society, without any prejudice to the form of power. The ancient Ottoman Empire, for example, was almost a classless society, without constituting a political democracy at all.
The term «social» is then opposed above all to «economic», although the economic element also falls under the term «social» when taken in the broad sense. According to the common meaning of the term, the adjective «economic» is used to indicate the material needs of human beings living in communities. But material and spiritual needs are closely intermingled; from the notion of material need, economics thus passes to that of «value»; an object has value when human beings are interested in possessing it and are willing to give, in proportion, material goods or goods of another kind in order to obtain it; thus, for example, if people desire the cinema, the clowns of the circus, or monasteries of contemplative life, such objects, however disparate, become values; they enter into the cycle of exchange and fall under the domain of economics. Economics thus tends to concern itself with the whole of social life, and the dividing line between the economic and the social element is sometimes difficult to determine. The distinction arises from the angle of vision, which for the social sciences is broader than that of economics, since, in general, they concern themselves with all the problems relating to the organization of society. Nevertheless, the opposition between the social, political, and economic aspects tends to restrict the social aspect; for this reason it is very difficult to propose definitions, since some define social questions as political and economic questions concerning the social classes. In fact, the question of classes or equality has played a far from negligible role in the development of social questions; but, as will be seen, it is not possible to restrict them to this aspect alone.
2. The term social questions. - The adjective «social» is connected with a considerable number of nouns; thus one speaks not only of social questions, but also of social theories, social doctrine, social movements, and social action; it is therefore useful to determine the meaning of each of these expressions. A social doctrine is a system containing a body of principles intended to give society a specific organization: in this sense, for example, one speaks of the social doctrine of the Church or of socialist doctrine. The expression social theory is used approximately in the same sense; but it implies less certainty and is applied to more limited fields. It is preferable to speak of the history of social theories rather than of the history of social doctrines.
Social questions have an immediately practical character. They are questions arising in a period beset by concrete difficulties, very often amid abuses or injustices. Social questions arise in connection with the welfare of citizens or of a part of them, from causes of a political and economic nature; but, considered in themselves, they tend to determine the value of institutions that enable human beings to attain the greatest possible degree of well-being. For example, the social question of property does not consist in determining whether private property ensures greater productivity for the means of production, but rather whether it guarantees more effectively human independence, dignity, and well-being. Here again, different points of view are involved. Social questions differ from country to country, and new ones arise every day.
Social movements are organizations of people with the precise aim of resolving social questions. They differ greatly from political movements, which tend to change the form of the State or to seize control of II. It is true that at a given moment social movements, such as workers’ or family movements, may consider it necessary to exert pressure on the State or even to demand a political reform—for example, universal suffrage or family suffrage—in order to achieve their objectives more easily; but, in itself, this political aspect constitutes only an accidental episode of social movements, taken in the sense explained above.
Socialism, on the other hand, links the social movement to the State and wants the State to be the principal, if not the sole, agent of social reform. In socialism, therefore, the social movement is primarily political. The primary objective of the communists, by contrast, appears to be to seize power in order to impose by authority the social reforms they deem necessary.
Social action, finally, aims at social reform and is characterized by the influence it exerts on institutions and by its structure, which is collective in nature; it is therefore opposed to individual action, which seeks to do good to one person without concerning itself with the reform of society. Almsgiving, for example, by which the poor are assisted without, however, influencing institutions—even when those institutions are wholly or partly the cause of the need in which the poor find themselves—is an act of an individual nature. The action, on the other hand, by which one seeks to introduce a system of insurance against accidents at work falls within social action.
II. SCOPE OF THE SOCIAL QUESTION
1. Agents of the contemporary world that have influenced social movements
Although there has always been a certain interest in social problems, the social agitation of the nineteenth century appears to be a completely new phenomenon, undoubtedly as a result of two singular aspects of the social life of the time.First of all, the parliamentary system opened the way to a new mentality: that of having citizens participate directly in public life. The parliamentary system, even though it was neither universal nor implemented in the same ways everywhere, nevertheless spread throughout the world the idea that all citizens ought to take an interest in the conditions of collective life, and consequently groups or movements with the aim of carrying out reforms came into being in every nation. This concern for social reform went so far as to engage the totalitarian governments that developed in the twentieth century. These governments differ profoundly from the ancient governments in their social concerns. The spirit of social reform is, moreover, linked to the democratic spirit. The privileged classes are always conservative and even today remain attached to the idea that social reforms are impossible or harmful, rather than useful. In countries where the old conservative classes still have a monopoly over public affairs, the social questions are agitated above all by foreigners. The development of social questions follows immediately upon the general development of contemporary civilization, which extends into every field. Since the end of the eighteenth century, the world has been evolving. In the past, the social ideal was an ideal of stability, both in technical life and in customs, institutions, and family and social practices. In the contemporary world, the continual changes taking place in every sphere have the effect of accustoming the individual to such changes and of weakening in him the systematic opposition characteristic of the conservative idea. On the other hand, the expansion of civilization leads people to believe that progress is possible, indeed that any progress is possible. But if better conditions of life can be created for the community, the duty to take action arises. Social progress or reform therefore becomes the fundamental obligation of human beings united in society, and it gives rise to the anguished desire to reject the social conditions that bear painfully upon particular classes, as well as to the confidence that, through social organization, all ills can be remedied.
2. Origin of the social question
The social question is often discussed as though it were reduced to a single one: the workers’ question. In reality, social questions are numerous, but the workers’ question was the first to be agitated with a great revolutionary apparatus, so that social movements are almost all workers’ movements.It refers not so much to the fact that the condition of workers is always worse than that of the other classes, for example, peasants, but rather to the fact that the Industrial Revolution at the beginning of the nineteenth century rapidly transformed the conditions of the working class, making them worse, and that, in addition, the first industrialized countries were also the first countries to establish the parliamentary system. These countries, with their industrial and parliamentary systems, were the very ones that then stood at the head of the intellectual movement in the world: new ideas radiated from them, spread by writers of international renown; finally, they politically dominated the world and established colonial Empires in the nineteenth century. This combination of reasons explains why the workers’ question presented itself as the social question par excellence.
Wherever large-scale industry develops, the same workers’ crisis arises, with inadequate wages, human concentrations in unhealthy districts, and so forth. As soon as a region becomes industrialized, the workers’ question is therefore boldly raised, whereas the agrarian question, for example, is an old question, brought forward repeatedly over the course of the centuries. This explains the apparent paradox whereby in China, where industrial workers perhaps constitute 1% of the population, the social question seems to be identified with the workers’ question. The same may be said of the countries of South America, in which industrialization is little developed. In Italy, the social question is primarily a workers’ question in the north and an agrarian question in the south.
3. Development of the social question
The workers’ question was therefore the first social question to be raised. Faced with the misery and uncertain future of workers, it became necessary to ensure better conditions of life for them. Efforts were directed toward increasing wages, reducing working hours, and eliminating certain abuses, such as child and female labor, and so forth. To accomplish all this, certain institutional reforms had to be demanded, such as the right to form trade unions and universal suffrage. Once some progress had been made in the more advanced countries, attention turned to workers’ security, and questions concerning social insurance, provision against accidents arising from professional activity, and unemployment insurance were consequently brought forward. At present, what may be called the third phase of these demands is making its way forward: namely, the moral conditions of workers’ lives, which require reforms capable of elevating their dignity. From this tendency arose systems intended to interest the worker in the development of the enterprise and to bring him into its management. The various forms of works councils and co-management now being devised aim, in addition to the material improvement of the working class, at raising its moral prestige.Although this development reaches its highest expression in the workers’ sphere, at the same time it has the effect of extending the social question to other problems very far removed from the workers’ question.
4. Diversity of the social question
In many countries the agrarian question, as has been noted, is more serious than the workers’ question and arises from the misery of the agricultural class. It encompasses many particular questions that possess distinctive characteristics according to the country and is connected with most of the other social questions. Since the population of the entire world, even in the present day, is predominantly engaged in agriculture, agrarian reform often coincides with the solution of other questions; indeed, its solution presupposes other questions. For this reason, one of the causes of workers’ misery is the misery of rural populations, who feel driven to seek their means of subsistence in the cities, submitting themselves to the most burdensome conditions. This would not occur if they found less difficult conditions in the countryside. On the other hand, the increase in population occurring in rural areas makes the migratory phenomenon necessary, not only toward the cities but often toward foreign countries. Thus a new question of an international order arises, that of emigration. International social questions have so far been resolved even less successfully than the social question within individual nations.Little by little, during the twentieth century, the idea then developed of a general organization of society that would make it possible for every person to achieve full development. To understand the numerous forms that this general formula can take, it is enough to look at Titles I and II of the Italian Constitution, which is unquestionably, both because of the time at which it was promulgated and because of the wisdom of those who devoted themselves to drafting it, the most representative of the present age.
The Constitution proclaims (Articles 23–25) the right of the family and the duty of the State to ensure the family the conditions necessary for its formation, protection, and development. The State must therefore take the measures necessary to give everyone the possibility of marrying, raising children, even if numerous, and educating them.
It proclaims the right to medical care for all citizens, as well as the right of all children to have access to every level of education «even if they lack financial means» (art. 28). All this, as is immediately apparent, goes far beyond the workers’ question.
Other social questions are peculiar to other countries. This is the case, for example, with the Negro question in the United States. In any nation where several races or nationalities find themselves together without merging, their relations give rise to social questions. Likewise, social questions arise with regard to the colonies, with greater or lesser significance according to the character of the dominant people.
5. The profound unity of social questions. — After a rapid examination of social questions, one is led to conclude that they are all linked to the idea of equality among men. Yet the idea of equality is full of ambiguities, like almost all the notions dealt with in social philosophy. Properly understood, the notion of equality also includes the just inequalities that result from the fact that the same rule, or measure of equality, cannot be applied indiscriminately to every person.
In any case, a social question arises when certain members of the community find themselves, through no fault of their own, unable to attain full human development. At the beginning of the modern age, all attention converged upon certain enormous injustices existing chiefly in the workers’ sphere. Gradually, however, as society came under the influence of all the transformations aimed at creating a more perfect social order, people arrived at the conception of the duty incumbent upon the community, and upon the State that represents it, to organize social life in such a way that all citizens may find in ordinary life the means of attaining their full development. This conception is the same as that of the thinkers of the Middle Ages, when they taught that the totality of goods had been placed by God at the disposal of the totality of men, above all in order to make possible a perfect common life. Therefore, when it is said that the State has the duty to ensure that all children receive a minimum of education and that all those capable of pursuing higher studies be enabled to do so, a right is being affirmed that is not confined to the minimum of life. Likewise, the old liberal conception, according to which each person must be recognized as having the right to marry and to educate his children as he wishes, is giving way to the new conception according to which the State must intervene to make that right effective, through appropriate measures ensuring that all citizens are materially able to establish a home and educate their children. Moreover, in order that they may be free to have all the children they desire, they should be provided with the means: something that can occur only
through social organization, that is, through specific institutions.
The examples cited concerning the family and education, to which no one would ever have thought a hundred years ago, clearly show that social questions have broadened their scope. And the questions of the family and education have not been limited to the working or agricultural class alone, but concern the entire nation. Nevertheless, workers’ and agrarian questions always remain the field in which the social question is most acute and, in most cases, the field in which the greatest difficulties and most urgent problems arise. It should be added that the various countries of the world are at very different stages of social development. In some, such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, there is no agrarian question; in others, however, such as southern Italy and Spain, the agrarian question is keenly felt. In Western Europe, the workers’ question has undergone the evolution described above and, with regard to workers’ misery, the most serious question is undoubtedly that of unemployment, whose remedy is connected with a complex of questions, particularly that of emigration. In South America, Asia and Africa, very different situations are found; alongside countries with highly advanced social legislation, there are countries that are only at the beginning of social organization, immersed in abuses such as those visible in Europe a century ago.
Finally, it must be said that social questions assume different aspects in the new nations, which, drawing upon the experience of the more advanced countries, can often pass through the various stages of social evolution more rapidly. These nations, although they have a highly developed organization in certain sectors, are entirely without one in others: alongside extremely modern cities stretch backward rural areas; alongside districts rich in all modern amenities, there are rows of districts lacking everything.