Summary / Resumé
In his commentary Karl-Josef Laumann reminds us of the publication of the papal encyclical „On human labour“ (Laborem exercens) of 1981. This circular of the former Polish pope is still surprizingly valid today: His warning against a primitive capitalism, which subjects man to the material production processes and profi t objectives, the admonition, not to take mass unemployment for granted, the concern for young people who refrain from raising a family, because work and sustenance are lacking or seem uncertain. In contrast to this there is the Christian conception of man: Not as an object but as a subject man fulfi ls his dignity in the world of work.