The Legacy of Pacem in Terris and Representative Democracy: Intermediary Bodies and Political Participation in Public Life

The present contribution aims to reflect on the legacy of Pacem in Terris from the point of view of political theory. It is certainly not news that in this encyclical, many links can be found with this field of study; in fact, the themes examined are proof of this: the order between human beings, relations between human beings and public authorities, relations between political communities and relations between States 2 . Based on this awareness, in the following pages, we will try to enrich the reflection, trying to bring out the attention that Pacem in Terris reserves for the presence of intermediate bodies within society, considering them essential elements for the protection of social coexistence. the essay is not simply reconstructive, but, starting from this encyclical, also advances considerations on the state of health of contemporary democracies, on the importance of pluralism for their internal liveliness and, therefore, on the importance of preserving the presence of intermediate bodies, especially from the tendencies that would like to erase them from the public space.