The Age of Responsibility

Several years ago, while 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 by communicating a message, in many ways, aimed at this idea of responsibility. What was intriguing was not the extent to which I currently hear this message of responsibility, but how three significant writers used it nearly 70 years ago.

In 1956, the German priest and theologian Fr. Romano Guardini wrote a book called 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, Power and Responsibility: A Course of Action for the New Age, in which 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 Liberty in New York. He argued that the Statue of Liberty 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 to the other person, and this responsibility must be prioritized for love to be authentic.

Three thinkers from three countries, all within a 14-year period, argue 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 to the Catholic worldview. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has outlined seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching, one of which is Rights and Responsibilities. We have certain fundamental rights as children of God, and with those rights come corresponding duties or responsibilities. Our Western culture today has overemphasized rights at the expense of responsibilities, and for this reason, I believe the message of responsibility is striking a chord with many in our society. Sometimes, given the circumstances of a specific culture, a message 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.”