The worth of the human person.

A person is ``a subjective being capable of acting in a planned 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.'' [II81, Ch. II.6]. Work is a need of the rational nature of men and women. Work must lead to the complete development of our spiritual powers and to the perfecting of men and women. Thus the whole person, our mind, will, feeling, and physical strength must share in it. None of these gifts should be barred from participation in work. This happens when human beings are instrumentalized, when he or she is made into a machine. It is worth noting that machines can help us prevent this situation. For example, the possibilities created by new virtual reality technologies allow the whole person to engage in her or his work. These technologies, however, can sadly become a trap when used as a means of escaping reality, particularly by young people.

Pope John Paul II summarizes this principle saying that work is for the person and not the person for work. If work is only considered in terms of its output, then the perfecting of the human person at work will be forgotten. ``The myth of payment for work has conquered in us all (...) Man is lost in the pursuit of profit (...) Moreover, we are becoming the slaves of things. We are so absorbed in and engrossed by the perfecting of what we do that we completely forget about ourselves. We even consider that excess of work frees us from the duty of moulding our own souls'' [Wys60, Ch. III] It follows that we have to pay particular attention to how we do our work.