Iain BENSON: "Subsidiarity Origins and Contemporary Aspects", en Christianity and Constitutionalism (Edited by N, ARONEY AND I. LEIGH), Oxford University Press, 2021)
This chapter discusses the nature and ongoing relevance of the principie of subsidiarity in constitutional law. Subsidiarity is, in brief, an organizing principie. The Latin term subsidium (literally: help or aid) underlies the concept, which States that as much as possible matters should be organized in ways so that the larger aspects of a society (nation, State, etc.) assist the local, the smaller, and the more personal aspects (persons, families, associations, etc.) to undertake their proper functions. As a consequence, subsidiarity furthers diversity rather than homogeneity and the local rather than the distant. The justification for this ordering is so that the smaller aspects are enabled to realize those ends that are proper to their true natures rather than being submerged or interfered with unduly by the larger powers surrounding them. The principie is found in Aristotle but was developed principally in Román Catholic social philosophy. The idea is derived not from anthro-pology but from the nature of human society. Aristotle noted that the city is naturally composed of certain natural groupings—families, tribes, associations, neighborhoods, villages—and that these groupings are sufficient for some tasks but not for others.2 The city may assist the smaller by giving them what they need to survive and achieve their goals.