SOCIAL QUESTIONS. — “Sociale” is a common term, always used to denote what pertains to society. In the Middle Ages one spoke of a *pactum sociale*. When, however, one speaks of “social questions” or “social sciences,” its meaning is usually narrowed.
I. EVOLUTION OF THE TERMS
1. The adjective “sociale” and related terms
Etymologically, “sociale” is equivalent to “political,” the former deriving from Latin, the latter from Greek;their precise aim being to resolve the social questions. They differ greatly from political movements that aim 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 those of workers or families, may deem 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 more easily achieve their objectives; but, in itself, such a political aspect constitutes only an incidental episode of social movements, as understood above.
Socialism, on the other hand, links the social movement to the State and wishes the State to be the principal, if not the sole, agent of social reform. In socialism, therefore, the social movement is primarily political. For the communists, the first objective appears instead to be the seizure of 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 collective structure; it thus stands opposed to individual action, which aims to do good to a single person without concern for reforming society. Almsgiving, for example, by which aid is given to the poor without influencing institutions—even if such institutions are the total or partial cause of the poverty—is an individual act. The action, however, by which one seeks to introduce a system of insurance against work-related accidents falls within social action.
II. Scope of the Social Question
2. Agents of the contemporary world that have influenced social movements
Although there has always been some interest in social problems, the social agitation of the 19th century appears as a completely new phenomenon, undoubtedly due to two distinctive aspects of social life at the time.First, the parliamentary regime fosters a new mentality: that of directly involving citizens in public life. The parliamentary regime, even if not universal and implemented in very different ways, nevertheless spreads throughout the world the idea that all citizens should be concerned with the conditions of collective life, and this leads in all nations to the formation of groups or movements aimed at reform. This zeal for social reform extends even to engaging totalitarian governments that developed in the 20th century, which differ profoundly in their social concerns from ancient governments. The spirit of social reform is moreover linked to the democratic spirit. Privileged classes have always been conservative and remain even today attached to the idea that social reforms are impossible or harmful rather than beneficial. In countries where the old conservative classes still hold a monopoly on public affairs, social questions are agitated primarily by outsiders. The development of social questions follows immediately the general development of contemporary civilization, which extends into every field. Since the end of the 18th century the world has been in evolution. In the past, the social ideal was one of stability, both in technical life and in customs, institutions, family life, and social conventions. In the contemporary world, the continuous changes that succeed one another in all fields have the effect of accustoming the individual to such changes and of weakening in him the systematic opposition characteristic of conservative thought. On the other hand, the spread of civilization leads one to believe that progress is possible, indeed that any progress is possible. But if better living conditions can be created for the community, then the duty arises to strive for them. Progress or social reform thus becomes a fundamental obligation of men living in society and matures in the tormented anxiety to reject social conditions that painfully affect certain classes, and in the confidence that, through social organization, all evils can be remedied.
3. Origin of the social question
The social question is often spoken of as if it were a single one: the workers’ question. In reality, there are many social questions, but the workers’ question was the first to be agitated with great revolutionary fanfare, 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 other classes, for example, of peasants, but rather to the fact that the Industrial Revolution at the beginning of the 19th century rapidly worsened the conditions of the working class, and moreover that the first industrialized countries were also the first to establish the parliamentary regime. These countries with an industrial and parliamentary structure were the same that then stood at the head of the intellectual movement in the world: from them new ideas radiated, spread by writers of international renown; they, finally, politically dominated the world and in the 19th century constituted the colonial empires. This complex 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, with human agglomerations in unhealthy neighborhoods, etc. As soon as a region industrializes, the workers’ question is therefore ardently agitated, whereas the agrarian question, for example, is an old question, repeatedly raised over the centuries. This explains the apparent paradox by which in China, where industrial workers may constitute perhaps 1% of the population, it seems that the social question is identified with the workers’ question. The same may be said of the countries of South America, where industrialization is little developed. In Italy, the social question is primarily a workers’ question in the North and an agrarian question in the South.
4. Evolution of the social question
The workers’ question is, then, the social question raised first. Faced with the misery and uncertain future of workers, the need was seen to ensure them better living conditions. The effort was directed toward increasing wages, reducing working hours, eliminating certain abuses such as child and female labor, etc. To achieve all this, some institutional reforms had to be demanded, such as the right to organize and universal suffrage. Once some progress had been made in the more advanced countries, attention turned to the security of workers, and thus issues concerning social insurance, provisions against occupational accidents, and unemployment insurance arose. At present, a third phase, so to speak, of demands is gaining ground; namely, the moral conditions of workers’ lives, which require reforms aimed at elevating dignity. From this tendency have emerged systems to involve workers in the development of the enterprise and to include them in management. The various forms of works councils and co-management now being implemented aim, in addition to a material improvement of the working class, at raising its moral prestige.While in the workers’ field this evolution reaches its highest expression, at the same time it results in extending the social question to other problems far removed from the workers’ question.
4. Diversity of the Social Question — In many countries, as has been noted, the agrarian question is more serious than the labor question and stems from the poverty of the rural class. It encompasses many particular issues that have distinctive characteristics according to the country and is connected to most 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 the resolution of others. For this reason, one of the causes of workers' poverty is due to the poverty of rural workers, who feel compelled to seek their livelihood in cities, subjecting themselves to the most burdensome conditions. This would not occur if they found less difficult conditions in the countryside. On the other hand, the population growth in rural areas makes migration necessary not only to cities but often to foreign countries. Thus arises a new international question: that of emigration. International social questions have thus far been resolved even worse than the social question within individual nations.
Gradually, during the 20th century, the idea of a general organization of society develops, one that would enable every person to achieve their full development. To grasp the many aspects this general formula can take, one need only look at Titles I and II of the Italian Constitution, which is undoubtedly, both for the time in which it was issued and for the wisdom of those who drafted it, the most representative of the current era.
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 necessary measures to give everyone the opportunity to marry, to raise children—even numerous ones—and to educate them.
It proclaims the right to medical care for all citizens, as well as the right for all children to access any level of education “even if lacking financial means” (Article 28). All this, as is immediately evident, goes far beyond the labor question.
Other social questions are peculiar to other countries. This is the case, for example, of the Negro question in the United States. In any nation where multiple races and nationalities coexist without merging, their relations give rise to social questions. Likewise, social questions arise regarding colonies, with greater or lesser relevance depending on the character of the dominant people.
5. Profound Unity of the Social Questions — After a brief examination of the social questions, one concludes that they are all linked to the idea of equality among men. All this, as is immediately evident, goes far beyond the labor question. This is the case, for example, of the Negro question in the United States. In any nation where multiple races and nationalities coexist without merging, their relations give rise to social questions. Likewise, social questions arise regarding colonies, with greater or lesser relevance depending on the character of the dominant people.
In any case, a social question arises when some members of the community find themselves, through no fault of their own, unable to achieve full human development. At the beginning of the contemporary age, all attention was focused on certain enormous injustices, especially in the labor field. However, as society was influenced by all the transformations aimed at creating a more perfect social order, the conception arose that the community—and the State that represents it—has the duty to structure social life so that all citizens find in ordinary life the means to achieve their full development. This conception is the same as that of medieval thinkers, who taught that the sum of goods was placed by God at the disposal of the sum of men, especially to enable a perfect common life. For this reason, 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 higher studies are enabled to pursue them, a right is affirmed that is not limited to the bare minimum of life. Similarly, the old liberal conception, according to which everyone must be recognized the right to marry and educate their children as they wish, is replaced by the new conception that the State must intervene to make this right effective through appropriate measures so that all citizens are materially able to found a home and educate their children. Moreover, so that they may freely have all the children they desire, it is fitting to provide them with the means: something that can occur only through social organization, that is, through specific institutions.
The examples cited regarding the family and education, which no one would have ever considered a hundred years ago, clearly show that social questions have broadened their scope. The questions of the family and education are no longer limited to the working or rural classes alone but pertain to the entire nation. Nevertheless, labor and agrarian questions remain the fields in which the social question is most acute and, in most cases, the arena where the greatest difficulties and most urgent problems arise. It must 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, the agrarian question does not exist; in others, however, such as southern Italy and Spain, the agrarian question is keenly felt. In Western Europe, the labor question has undergone the evolution described, and regarding workers' poverty, the most serious issue is undoubtedly the lack of work, whose remedy is connected to a complex of questions, particularly that of emigration. In South America, Asia, and Africa, vastly different situations are found; alongside countries with highly advanced social legislation, there are countries that are only at the beginning of social organization, steeped in the abuses that were visible in Europe a century ago.
Lastly, it must be said that social questions take on different aspects in new nations, which, drawing on the experience of more advanced countries, can often traverse the various stages of social evolution more rapidly. These nations, if they have a highly developed organization in certain sectors, lack it entirely in others: alongside ultra-modern cities, there extend backward rural areas; alongside wealthy districts with all modern conveniences, there lie districts lacking everything.