Subsidiarity Is a Third Position

Subsidiarity is a third position, not a pole on the Keynes-to-Hayek spectrum. Subsidiarity originates in Catholic social teaching. Quadragesimo Anno (1931) criticizes both laissez-faire capitalism and central planning, calling both unregulated markets and overcentralized states a “grave evil.” Treating subsidiarity as Hayek strips the most important part: the commitment to community organized around shared purpose, with authority distributed to the lowest competent level. Hayek would not endorse an encyclical that condemns unregulated markets alongside overcentralized states.