Since the 1960s, an outside observer may be forgiven for thinking that Catholic political philosophy has a preference for socialism, or even communism. It was not always so, for until that time, Catholic Americans were criticized for having fealty to bejeweled European potentates, while their loyalty to the Republic was suspect.

Rather, the Church prefers good government, with ‘good’ meaning morally good; it encourages moral living in its citizens and its leadership, with there being no distinction between private and public morality. Of course, the charge of hypocrisy can often be fairly leveled towards any government that claims morality, which is understandable, considering our fallen and sinful state.

‘Hypocrisy’, which comes from a Greek word relating to acting, was first used by the ancient skeptical philosophers, the Sophists, against those who argued that government has or should have a moral basis. The Sophists instead believed in the raw use of power for its own sake, and would relentlessly seek out hypocrisy in their opponents, saying, in effect, that their opponents themselves were also interested in power, and not goodness. Not much has changed. Our present worldly philosophy of ideas is based overwhelmingly on this kind of skepticism.

The ancient influence on modern thought pretty much ends with Socrates, but the Catholic philosophy of government begins with him, and his pupil Plato, and Plato’s pupil Aristotle, and those that followed. They were all concerned with government, thought it was necessary, and believed that morality was something real, outside of us and discoverable by reason, and that government ought to conform to these universal moral laws.

The ancient Greek philosophers are of supreme importance in the Western understanding of politics; just consider these Greek words we use for forms of government: monarchy (rule by one); oligarchy (rule by few); aristocracy (rule by the best); democracy (rule by the people); anarchy (without rule); plutocracy (rule by the wealthy); and tyranny. And our word politics comes from the Greek word for ‘city’.

Scripture and Sacred Tradition do not reveal much direction in the way of human governance, other than to say that we and our leaders have only one King, who is Christ, and that everyone is to do the will of the Father. So unlike other religions that specify a temporal order, Christians have to use philosophy in harmony with our Faith. And our political philosophy ultimately comes from the Greeks.

The Greek nationality was historically divided among numerous city-states, each of which had their own laws and governance; the Greeks were also very familiar with the various empires around the Mediterranean Sea, and had a fairly good idea as to what kinds of governments worked well, and which ones did not. Unlike the Sophists, those philosophers who understood right reason (Greek: orthodoxia), recognized that some forms of government were good, others bad, and that bad governments ended up in tyranny.

The philosophers understood that monarchies, aristocracies, and democracies were all demonstrably good forms of government, because they followed the rule of law. Their opposites, tyranny, oligarchy (especially plutarchy), and anarchy were bad, for they were laws unto themselves, and did not serve the public good. They also recognized that the good forms could easily become degnerate.

Plato was suspicious of democracy, for inevitably, the poor would take away the rights of property owners; indeed, he thought that democracy could only work if the society didn’t have extremes of wealth (see The Republic). He disliked oligarchies, since they tended to become plutarchies, where the rich would lord over the poor. His famous solution to this problem is the Philosopher-King, an enlightened monarch. His ruling class was absolute, they would be highly educated, they would not raise children, and they would not own property, and both men and women were suitable for rule.

This form of government seems absurd, but it actually was – and is – quite successful, for this is precisely the form of government used in Catholic monasteries. An abbot – or abbess – is an absolute, but hopefully enlightened elected monarch, who is not concerned with family and children, while living under a vow of poverty. Plato’s philosophy has been criticized for being too spiritual, but it describes the spiritual life and religious community rather well.

Aristotle’s philosophy in general gives more weight to the material world and takes into account change and growth; he is the philosopher of moderation and common sense. He thought that the state ought to be governed by a broad middle class: like Plato, he thought that rule by the wealthy or by the poor would lead to tyranny.

These two philosophical strains – the spiritual and the moderate – were incorporated into the various philosophies that developed later in the Roman Empire, with great ultimate influence on the Church.

Latin Christendom developed distinctive forms of governance, influenced by the pursuit of the good in government in accord with the Faith. Christendom incorporated both monarchical rule and the self-governing city-state. Central government was weak, and had limited power of taxation, and in the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy, the monarchs were elected. Rulers in Latin Christendom tended to have both unlimited authority and very little actual power. The feudal system fixed a low, but certain level of taxation for landowners, while also guaranteeing a livelihood for the poor, thus stably balancing the interests of both the wealthy and the poor.

In Christendom, democracy was widely practiced on the local level, with peasants managing the distribution of fields, and guilds regulating manufactures and trade. This local regulation encouraged the growth of a middle class, where both extreme poverty and plutocracy were kept in check.

The thinking of the modern era eliminated the crucial distinction found in the ancient philosophers: that some forms of government are good, and others bad. Instead, the moderns are skeptics, and think that government is just the raw exercise of power, and that in any government there are winners and losers. Those who think that the poor ought to dominate society think that democracy is the best government, whereas those who want to increase their own wealth prefer a plutarchy. Modern thought is materialistic, and so encourages competition, either between nations, economic powerhouses, or between social classes. Modern governments distressingly often become tyrannies: Liberal governments are illiberal, social-justice governments are injust, and economic growth governments breed poverty.

European monarchies degenerated under Absolutism: monarchs wanted both unlimited authority and power. They gained illegitimate authority by attempting to control the Church, and gained power via tyranny. This situation led Catholics to consider alternative forms of government, but it ultimately was Protestant, Enlightenment, and atheistic thinkers who implemented the revolutionary changes that we live with today.

The main political opinions of today either value freedom above all else, or else the rights of particular groups. But freedom to do what? Are new rights in conflict with other rights? Are we doing things that are unreasonable? We have raised basically neutral ideas to false goods, which simply leads to destructive competition. We ignore the true good, which is morality.

As Catholics, we know the commandments and works of mercy that regulate the social realm. Honor your mother and father. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not covet. Love your neighbor as yourself. Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless. Comfort the sick. Ransom captives. Bury the dead. We must always keep our attention on these, and not falsely raise other ideas to the level of higher principles.

A good government is one that encourages moral goodness. A government that practices or encourages lying, killing, stealing, envy, adultery, the destruction of the family, and causes poverty, illness, and captivity is a bad government.