Suorum Operum Potestas
Works, Virtues, and the Theology of Economy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21363473 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory Williams (0000-0002-6512-7489, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 1095 |
| Pages | 558-584 |
| Publication date | 2020-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | New Blackfriars (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0028-4289 • E-ISSN: 1741-2005 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/nbfr.12399 |
| OpenAlex | W2883352160 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
In the prologue to I-II of the Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas says that part of the image of God in human beings is that the human person liberum arbitrium habens et suorum operum potestatem - “has free will” (liberum arbitrium habens) and what is often translated as “control of their actions” (suorum operum potestatem). This article makes the case for translating “suorum operum potestatem” as “power over their works,” giving this passage a distinctly political and economic significance. It contends that Thomas is assigning human beings precisely what critics of capitalism claim that industrial society denies them. The “works” that people do in homes, offices, factories, farms, and hospitals - the things that they get paid (or don't get paid) a wage for - ought to be their very own, because they are a means by which people can grow in virtue. Translating “suorum operum potestas” in this way puts Thomas in conversation not only with modern anti-capitalist leftists like Karl Mark, but also with Russian Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov, who envisioned work as a form of priestly activity that “humanized” creation by rendering it to God
Art · Capitalism · Conversation · Literature · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Prologue · Sociology · Theology · Virtue · Law · Philosophy · Theology and Philosophy of Evil
| Highly cited | No |
|---|