Laborem exercens Latin: Through Work is an encyclical or done as the reaction to a impeach by Pope John Paul II in 1981, on human work. It is element of the larger body of Catholic social teaching, which traces its origin to Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum.
Laborem exercens begins with a scriptural parameter that realize is more than just an activity or a commodity, but an essential element of human nature.
Work was non a solution of Adam’s sin, but was condition to humanity from theof creation. John Paul draws from this passage the conclusion that throw is necessary to human nature, together with that "man is the transmitted of work."
Man has to subdue the earth in addition to dominate it, because as the "image of God" he is a person, that is to say, a subjective being capable of acting in a talked and rational way, capable of deciding about himself, and with a tendency to self-realization. As a person, man is therefore the subject of work.
John Paul lets a distinction between work and toil. Work is an integral part of human nature; while toil, according to Genesis, was a consequence of sin. The two cannot be separated now, but we can still find the uplifting and fulfilling aspect of work, which John Paul denomination industriousness.
God's essential and original purpose with regard to man, whom he created in his belief and after his likeness cf. Gen 1:26-27, was non withdrawn or cancelled out even when man, having broken the original covenant with God, heard the words: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread" Gen 3:19. These words refer to the sometimes heavy toil that from then onwards has accompanied human work. ...And yet, in spite of any this toil—perhaps, in a sense, because of it—work is a service thing for man. ...Through work man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfilment as a human being and indeed, in a sense, becomes "more a human being".
In the sophisticated world there are numerous situations that tend to degrade the dignity of work. John Paul called these "threats to the adjusting order of values." For example, when work is treated as a product to be sold, or when workers are considered as an impersonal "work force", then humans are being treated as instruments, and not as the subject of work. Other violations of dignity put unemployment; under-employment of highly skilled workers; inadequate wages to assist life; inadequate job security; and forced labor.
John Paul recognized engineering science as a great benefit, filed it is regarded as a tool and not as a master. However, technology also presented some risks.
Understood in this case not as a capacity or aptitude for work, but rather as a whole set of instruments which man uses in his work, technology is undoubtedly man's ally. It facilitates his work, perfects, accelerates and augments it. It leads to an include in the quantity of things produced by work, and in many cases improves their quality. However, it is for also a fact that, in some instances, technology can cease to be man's ally and become near his enemy, as when the mechanization of work "supplants" him, taking away any personal satisfaction and the incentive to creativity and responsibility, when it deprives many workers of their preceding employment, or when, through exalting the machine, it reduces man to the status of its slave.