The post-enlightenment world in which we live tells us that man is essentially an individual animal; that he is on this earth to serve his own needs and desires and to act to ensure his survival and that of his progeny. His relationship and interaction with others takes the form of a series of social contracts. These social contracts impose certain duties upon him and give him certain rights. However, he does not give freely, he does so with the hope (or rather, the expectation) that he will receive something in return.
Christianity and the Catholic Church vehemently reject this notion of man in isolation self-interestedly seeking his own advantage and engaging with others only to the extent that (a) his forced to do so or (b) such engagement serves his purposes. We are called to a radically different approach to our life in the world. As Pope Benedict states in Caritas in Veritate, “the earthly city is promoted not merely by relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more fundamental extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. Charity always manifests God’s love in human relationships as well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for justice in the world.”
So we if we are to engage in this earthly city in a fully human way, in a manner that lifts us above the nature of other animals, we are to live gratuitously. This principle of gratuitousness lies at the heart of all understanding of man’s relationship with man and hence must underlie all discussion of the manner in which we create and execute those institutions and ideas that give form to man’s interconnectedness with man: families, communities, economic systems, systems of governance.
What does it mean to live gratuitously? Simply said, to live gratuitously is to give freely, according to the needs of others and according to our ability and responsibility to give. This gratuitous living, then, requires a life of reflection; a life spent seeking to understand others, their needs, desires, hopes and fears and also seeking to understand ourselves our own capabilities and responsibilities. Interestingly, as one seeks to understand and live this idea of gratuitous giving, one begins to see a corollary human trait, trust. As we empty ourselves in the care of others we come to realize our dependence upon others for our needs. So, in this way of living I am called both to give freely and to receive freely. My relationship with my fellow man becomes one of mutual self-giving. This life of relationship differs fundamentally from the enlightened notion expressed at the beginning of this piece, the notion of isolated individuals entering into social contracts.
The exploration of how we should live this idea of gratuitousness serves as one of the main themes of A Sensible Life. Our current economic and political realities are rife with examples of how we are not living gratuitously. With a little digging we can find some examples of things we are doing well.