Editing Magnifica Humanitas: A Plain-Language Overview (section)

== Subsidiarity: do not take away what smaller communities can do ==

Another major theme of the encyclical is '''subsidiarity'''.

The idea is simple.

Responsibilities should ordinarily remain with the smallest or most local person, family, community, organization, or institution capable of carrying them out competently.

Larger institutions should assist smaller ones when necessary.

They should not unnecessarily absorb their responsibilities.

A higher authority therefore exists partly to '''support''' the ability of smaller communities to act, not simply to replace them.<ref name="MHSubsidiarity">Leo XIV, ''Magnifica Humanitas'', especially nos. 68–72, on the principle of subsidiarity and its application to digital power.</ref>

This becomes especially interesting in the digital world.

Today, enormous technology companies and platforms may exercise forms of practical power that were once associated primarily with governments.

They can determine:

* who is visible;
* who can participate;
* which software may run;
* who has access to data;
* which businesses reach customers;
* what rules govern communication;
* and what opportunities exist within entire digital ecosystems.

Leo argues that such power should not become opaque and unilateral.

People and smaller institutions need meaningful opportunities to participate, understand decisions, seek recourse, and retain genuine freedom of action.<ref name="MHSubsidiarity" />