by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
As if summoned by a magic wand, the thousand trumpets of advertising terror suddenly blared against the TFP from north to south. Slander spread everywhere and was sometimes even echoed in newspapers with wide and unquestionable reputations. Suddenly, as if the wand had grown tired of conducting, the orchestration stopped as quickly as it had begun. Nothing remains of this furious onslaught of media terrorism.
It is not in my nature to persecute a defeated opponent or pursue an adversary who has stopped attacking. The slander has ended, so I will remain silent, especially because no topic is more unfortunate for an article than an old slander that has lost its life and power to influence.
Therefore, I will only say that TFP’s claimed involvement in a conspiracy against the government is unfounded nonsense fueled by sensationalism.
So, I will now move on to a better topic because it is doctrinal, serene, and, I hope, also accessible.
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Dona Cesarina asked me why the TFP didn’t include “freedom” or “work” in its motto instead of “property.” Since I didn’t have time to answer her then, I will address the issue now.
For Leo XIII, property is harmoniously and inseparably connected with freedom and work, forming a unified whole. Therefore, anyone who denies any of these three values also denies all of them, and anyone who affirms one implicitly affirms all three.
Indeed, every living being, from the simplest cell to a bird or lion, has needs and is equipped with natural abilities to meet them. So, when a bird or lion feels hungry, its instinct signals what to eat, and its body has the means to find and consume that food. Therefore, a natural connection exists between each living being’s needs and abilities.
This universal principle also applies to humans and leads to the three basic rights: being free, working, and owning property.
Indeed, to satisfy his needs, man has an intelligent soul endowed with the willpower to see and desire what he requires. His body is a source of various needs and the instrument to do what is necessary to meet them. From this situation, it follows that man simultaneously possesses:
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The right to act freely according to his right reason to achieve his end;
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The right to work as a means of satisfying his needs;
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The right to private property.
Yes, the property right. In this short article, I do not plan to explain all the legitimate origins of private property. Let us see how it develops from freedom and work.
Endowed with natural freedom, man is not a slave but his own master.
Being his own master, he owns his abilities and the work through which he applies them. And because man owns his work, he owns the results of his labor, which means he owns his wages. Property is therefore born of freedom and work.
Let us now examine how ownership of wages leads to ownership of all kinds of property, both movable and immovable. Since man owns his work and wages, he can work more or less and save accordingly. By working and saving enough, he can build a nest egg so he doesn’t have to worry about tomorrow. Alternatively, he can acquire tools to start a business or purchase real estate to rent out. He can also accumulate savings to join an enterprise. According to Leo XIII, if I’m not mistaken, property is essentially condensed and accumulated labor.[1]
Therefore, property arises from each person’s freedom and work.
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In conclusion, I will address a few potential objections.
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Isn’t it unfair that some people become owners, while others can’t achieve the same because of illness, misfortune, or laziness?
It’s the same as asking whether it’s unfair that some people enjoy good health, go for walks, or travel, while others, due to illness, misfortune, or laziness, cannot do the same. Those in an inferior situation are helped. Still, the normal course of things isn’t disrupted because of abnormal situations, whether they are culpable or not.
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But isn’t property susceptible to abuse?
Yes, they must be controlled, but this does not mean property should be hindered or harmed. Abuses can also happen in issues of freedom and work. Everyone agrees they should be controlled, but no one would agree to restrict or harm freedom or work because of this.
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If freedom, work, and property are so closely connected, why did the TFP choose the word “property” for its motto?
Our title is the Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property. What is most in need of defense today on a doctrinal level? Is it freedom and work, which everyone celebrates together? No, it is property, which demagogues and fools, at the height of their power, attack with all their might.
Yes, we defend property, and through it and with it, we support work and freedom.
[1] Translator’s note: Leo XIII’s statement: “It is precisely in this that property consists—that a man’s labor is embodied in the object he has created” (Encyclical Rerum Novarum, 1891).