The Age of Responsibility

Several years ago when I was studying for my master's thesis in theology, I was struck by a word that I kept coming across: responsibility. This may not seem that surprising given the popularity of public figures such as Jordan Peterson and Jocko Willink, who have gained notable influence for communicating a message aimed in many ways around this idea of responsibility. What was intriguing was not the extent to which I heard this message of responsibility currently, but how three significant writers used it nearly 70 years ago.

In 1956, the German priest and theologian Fr. Romano Guardini wrote The End of the Modern World, in which he argued that the modern world was ending, and a new age was upon us. He has rightly been called a prophet of the post-modern world for being arguably the first person to predict that the modern world was ending. Five years later he wrote his sequel entitled, Power and Responsibility: A Course of Action for the New Age, where he argued that due to increasing technological advances, we now have more power over the world than at any other point in history. His antidote to this problem: a greater focus on the virtue of responsibility.

Writing in 1946 about his experience surviving multiple concentration camps during World War II, Viktor Frankl ended his classic work, Man’s Search for Meaning, with an interesting side note. He remarked about his experience in the United States and the Statue of Freedom in New York. He argued that the Statue of Freedom on the East Coast should be supplemented by a statue of responsibility on the West Coast.

Published originally in 1960, Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) wrote his philosophical classic on love and sexuality titled Love and Responsibility. In it, he discusses how true love by necessity includes a responsibility for the other person and this responsibility must be prioritized for love to be authentic.

Three different thinkers from three different countries, all within a period of 14 years arguing for responsibility as a solution to current and future problems. It may seem obvious at first why they would write about responsibility during this period, as each of them lived through World War II. Yet we live in a culture today where this message still resonates deeply. It is a message that we as Catholics need to continue to promote as it is fundamental from the standpoint of a Catholic worldview. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) have outlined seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching, one of which is Rights and Responsibilities. We have certain fundamental rights as children of God and along with those rights we have corresponding duties or responsibilities. Our Western culture today has overemphasized rights to the detriment of responsibilities, and it is for this reason that I believe the message of responsibility is striking a chord with many in our society. Sometimes, given the circumstances of a specific culture, there is a message that resonates deeply, and responsibility is one such message today. Unfortunately, it has become rare to hear this message preached in our churches today.

I will end with a quote from Nelson Mandela, who in his book Long Walk to Freedom said, “I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill. One finds many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”