Far from being limited to denunciations of modernity, nineteenth-century Catholic thought had a programmatic and visionary side. This article deals with the models of community put forward by Lamennais in L'Avenir, Antonio Rosmini, Luigi Taparelli d'Azeglio, and Wilhelm Ketteler. These writers reimagined the foundations of public life against the claims of self-interested individualism and state omnipotence. Three theses in particular capture their vision of the future polity: 1) societies, which were not “mechanisms,” needed Catholicism as animating spirit; 2) political representation should be “organic”; and 3) whereas the liberal elites imposed their vested interests on the common people, the Catholic polity reflected their needs and beliefs. The four writers envisaged a community of the gentle and caring, which, like the family, was hierarchical, self-governed, local, and supportive. In contrast, it was argued that the people had no voice under liberalism because the elite's values were not the people's and because the political system was a mere arena for the clash of special interests. This was a communitarian and populist Catholicism, prizing self-government, denouncing parliamentary politics, and siding with “the people.”

十九世纪的天主教思想远非仅限于对现代性的谴责，它还具有纲领性和远见卓识的一面。本文讨论了 Lamennais 在《L'Avenir》中提出的社区模型、Antonio Rosmini、Luigi Taparelli d'Azeglio 和 Wilhelm Ketteler。这些作家重新构想了公共生活的基础，反对自私的个人主义和国家无所不能的主张。其中三个论点特别体现了他们对未来政体的愿景：1）社会不是“机制”，需要天主教作为充满活力的精神；2）政治代表性应该是“有机的”；3）自由派精英将他们的既得利益强加给普通民众，而天主教政体则反映了他们的需求和信仰。这四位作家设想了一个温柔而充满关爱的社区，就像家庭一样，是有等级制度的、自治的、地方性的和相互支持的。相比之下，有人认为，在自由主义下，人民没有发言权，因为精英的价值观不是人民的，而且政治制度只是特殊利益冲突的舞台。这是一种社群主义和民粹主义的天主教，推崇自治，谴责议会政治，并站在“人民”一边。