Społeczne obowiązki własności prywatnej

Abstract

The right to use and administer property, which results from the fact of ownership, is not unlimited. The Church has been standing on guard of private ownership: all violent actions against ownership such as theft, arson, etc. have been treated in the category of sin and severe ecclesiastical sanctions are imposed on those who commit these actions. It does not mean, however, that the Church has been of an opinion that there should be complete freedom of administering property, especially when it comes to individual consumption. Gluttony and drunkenness have been considered as sins, regardless of social position of an individual. Although ownership of material goods is the right of an individual, it is conditioned in multiple ways by the structure of human personality and by the arguments of social good. Material goods ownership is then a social function as well. A person who owns material goods and administers them is called upon to contribute to the welfare of others and to the welfare of the community in which he lives. Social dimension of human nature makes us ponder over man's role in constructing the best possible community, also by means of owned property. This concern expresses at the same time the deepest theological truth about man, who is the “likeness of God”. Man becomes this likeness not only thanks to his gift for a personal dialogue with God but also thanks to the gift for interpersonal community within human family and for controlling the world. Owing to his carnality man is substantially connected with the world – cannot improve himself without simultaneously improving and transforming the world. Yet, possessing inner spirituality he crosses the limits of the world and lives in personal solidarity with others.