Caritist Social Union

Caritist Social Union Karitarisēx Askolaþūra
Secretary-General	Enyékon Alitékuv
Caucus Chair	Águstín Pandéla
Whip	Devar Evigador
Founded	21159
Merger of	Christian Democrats Distributist Labour Union Humanist caucus
Headquarters	№21, 61-ram, D-District Kartika, District of Coīnvra
Newspaper	Just Commonwealth
Student wing	University Caritists
Labour wing	Federation of Christian Trade Unions
Membership (21204)	4.2 billion
Ideology	Christian democracy Distributism Subsidiarity Integral humanism factions: Ordoliberalism Christian left Model Economy Neo-corporatism Agrarianism
Federal Stanora	133 / 545

The Caritist Social Union is a caucus of political parties and independent politicians in the Kiravian Stanora united by distributist and Christian-democratic ideals. The Caritists are the currently the second-largest caucus in the Stanora, and are the leading party in opposition to the ruling Shaftonist-Republican Alliance.

History

Coscivian civilisation has a long history of religiously-inspired political movements seeking social and economic justice, beginning with demands for peasants'rights in Ancient Eskea lead by Komarist clerics, continuing to the social movements to improve the welfare of women, orphans, the poor, and the mentally ill that expanded with the rise of Ruricanism in Western Éorsa, and finally coming to full force with the arrival of Christianity in the Northwest Islands. The ethnic Ensciryan communities that gave Christianity its first converts in Coscivia gave the Church a central role in their society not only as a moral and spiritual authority, but also as an institution for education, healthcare, and support for the economically disadvantaged. Although the organic, communitarian nature of the Church weakened as Christianity spread into Western, Southern, and Central Éorsa where state institutions were better established, the state was still conceived of primarily as a mechanism for providing security and upholding law and order, and the majority of social services were undertaken by Christian, Rurican, or other religious orders.

-Indigenous Coscivian Christian Humanists-

-Contact with Western ideas- -Rise of Distributism- -Opposition to Kirosocialism- -Post-Kirosocialism-

The term "Caritist" is an Occidentalised back-translation of Karitarisēn, from the Latin caritas ("charity") + the common Coscivian suffix -risēn ("doctrine", "-ism"). The term emerged in writings circulated at Catholic institutes of learning in the 1800s AD in reference to the humanitarian praxis of Catholic social teaching. Although the term in its original and academic sense is not specific to politics and does not describe a political ideology senu stricto, in modern karitarisēn has taken on a meaning of "religious humanitarianism" or "religious (centre-)left" in Kiravian political culture.

Platform

Economics

The Caritist Social Union claims a platform based on distributist and Christian-democratic thought, with influences from ordoliberal economics, and the Christian left on certain issues and within certain factions. In its contemporary position, the CSU acts mainly to represent the concerns many Kiravians have about the economic liberal agenda pursued by the Shaftonist-Republican Alliance and the effects of market liberalism on social solidarity and public morals. Broadly speaking, it occupies the economic centre-left space of the Kiravian political field, advocating a more expressly humanistic approach to economic policy, characterised by more widespread ownership of productive property and housing, decentralisation, class collaboration, a preponderance of small and medium enterprises, a communitarian approach to social welfare and public services, and "more humane" labour laws. Most CSU members endorse the social market economy as the best policy framework for Kiravia, while the largest minority current seeks an economic structure closer to classical distributism, endorsing the Urcean Model Economy as framework for undertaking this transition. The economic right flank of the caucus has been described as social liberalism, the Third Way, or "neoliberalism with a human face"; while the left flank endorses social democracy verging on religious socialism.

Social Policy

Inspired by Christian ethics (particularly Catholic social teaching), the CSU holds strong positions on bioethics and on life issues. While all of the major caucuses in Kiravian politics can be considered socially conservative by modern Western standards, the CSU is more keen on upholding public morality through legislation than the SRA, CNC, or KFA. It supports the abolition of capital punishment for "ordinary domestic crimes in cases where life imprisonment would not endanger the public", and a federal prohibition on in vitro fertilisation.

Stated Policy Goals

Although the CSU itself is only a political actor on the federal level, it also serves as a consultative and cooperative forum for member-parties and independent members participating in the governance of the various federal subjects. As such, the common platforms adopted at CSU triennial conferences address policies to be pursued on both the national and state levels.

• Reintroduce directive principles of public and social policy to the Fundamental Statute (constitution), in order to compel the federal government of uphold social and economic justice and the dignity of the human person.
• "Forty acres, a cow, and a broadband connection" - Distributism for the digital age.
• Introduce stronger protections for genetic privacy and stronger safeguards against genetic discrimination, including adding a right to genetic privacy to the Statute of Liberties.
• Reform tax codes (state and federal) and incorporation laws to incentivise the creation of coöperatives
• Reform financial regulations to curb speculation, reduce leverage, and promote the proliferation of credit unions
• Introduce targeted initiatives for gradual land reform in areas where oligopolies on agricultural land are arresting economic and human development.
• Promote government investment and research in the field of renewable energy

Voter Base

As the second-largest caucus in the Federal Stanora, the CSU draws on a large popular support base, embracing many sectors of Kiravian society.

Tenant farmers

Regional strongholds for the SRA include the deeply Catholic Rosary Belt region of Farravonia, Catholic and developing Sarolasta, and New Ardmore.

Electoral Performance

Election	Seats	Outcome of election
21197	108 / 545	Shaftonist-Republican victory
21200	112 / 545	Shaftonist-Republican victory
21203	133 / 545	SRA-led minority government
21206	142 / 554	CSU-led minority government

Member Parties

State	Party	Conference	Delegates
Alavora	Popular Solidarity Party	DLA	1 / 3
File:Aventurine Bay Flag.png Aventurine Bay	Collaborative Distributist Party	DLA	2 / 3
Castera	Caritist Popular Party	UCCD	1 / 1
Landder	Christian People's Party	DLA	3 / 3
Etivéra	Popular Front Commonwealth Party People's Party Christian Democratic Party Christian Labour Party Caritist Party		2 / 7
Fariva	Commonwealth Party	UCCD	1 / 3
Hanoram	Solidarity Party	DLA	1 / 3
Idana	Christian Democratic Party	UCCD	2 / 3
Irovasdra	Commonwealth Party	UCCD	1 / 3
	Celtic Distributist Party	DLA	0 / 3
Ilfenóra	Caritist Republican Party	UCCD	1 / 3
	Christian Social Party	UCCD	0 / 3
	Catholic Worker Party	SSS	0 / 3
Kiygrava	Caritist Democratic Union	UCCD	0 / 3
	Metropolitan Distributist Party	UCCD	0 / 3
	Distributist Labour Party	DLA	0 / 3
	Christian Social Party	SSS	0 / 3
	Kiygravan Family Party	-	0 / 3
Metrea	Caritist Republican Party	UCCD	1 / 3
Niyaska	Popular Party-Christian Democrats	UCCD	1 / 3
	Popular Alternative Party	UCCD	0 / 3
File:SydonaIslandsFlag.png Sydona Islands	Coscivian People's Party	UCCD	2 / 3
File:Tryhstian Flag.png Tryhstian Littoral	Partido Social-Cristão	UCCD	2 / 3
	Partido da Solidariedade Integral	DLA	0 / 3
File:VarisaviaFlag.png Varisavia	Varisavian Popular Party Katryn's Distributist Party Christian Labour Party	UCCD DLA DLA	1 / 3

Observer Organisations

State	Organisation	Notes
Nationwide	Catholic Rural Life Federation	Civil society group involved in rural development and advocating agrarian distributism
Nationwide	Catholic Worker Political Committee	Communitarian and personalist group associated with the Catholic Worker Movement
Nationwide	Federation of Christian Trade Unions	The de facto labour wing of the CSU
Etivéra	Mid-Oceanic Society of Freeholders	Represents the sivētur investor-farmer class of the eastern coastal states
District of Coīnvra	Social Capital	Extraparliamentary association of the Christian left operating as a pressure group in the capital district, where political parties have been banned since Template:H:title
File:IbykiaFlag.png Ibykia	New Democratic Party	A Christian-democratic party active in the advisory Representative Assembly of Ibykia
Cascada	Society of Good Neighbours	Mormon-inspired pressure group formed to give a political voice to the Latter-Day Saint community in Cascada.