Zak Slayback joins Geoff to discuss Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, the context in which it was written, and its relevance to today. Topics include the emergence of nationalism and industrial-scale capitalism, the subsequent fracturing of cottage industries, the rise of socialist reactionary movements, the obligations employers have to workers (and vice versa), subsidiarity, and the moral challenges investors face in our hyper-financialized consumer economy.
In addition to Rerum Novarum, Zak referenced a number of other encyclicals in our conversation:
Quadrageismo Anno, Pius XI
Centesimus Annus, John Paul II
Laborem Exercens, John Paul II
Caritas in Veritate, Benedict XVI
Zak is a venture capital partner at 1517 Fund and an occasional author.
P.S. Shortly after reading it for the first time, Geoff wrote a little about Rerum Novarum on his substack.
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