The Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day, and Exemplary Anarchism^2519th century, we would find a multiplication of groups aspiring
to a Christ-like ideal and the increasing feeling that “sainthood”
of a kind was within the reach of any committed practitioner of
the Christian faith. Finally, we should highlight the tendency to
see in the exemplum a kind of authority distinct from the law-like
authority of Christian doctrine—authority that inspires imitation
rather than commanding obedience. In some sense, exempla “com-
pel” emulation, but they owe their influence principally to the vol-
untary actions of those who find their spirits stirred by them, not
to feelings of obligation or threats of sanction for noncompliance.
Exemplarity and the origins of the Catholic Worker
There is ample evidence that the tradition of Christian exemplar-
ity described above directly informed Dorothy Day’s and Peter
Maurin’s visions for the Catholic Worker. It is in the nature of
examples, however, that they tend to give rise to a multiplicity of
interpretations, and it will be necessary not only to show that Day
and Maurin found inspiration in the Christian exempla but to
describe more precisely the manner in which they selectively ap-
propriated the tradition for the sake of the movement. Both Day
and Maurin, for instance, saw Christ’s example as a model with
great relevance to their own activities. But their understanding of
His example placed heavy stress on His human qualities and lent
credence to their own emphasis on anarchism, decentralism, and
active ministry to the poor. Day argued that
Philosophical anarchism, decentralism, requires that we follow the
Gospel precept to be obedient to every living thing: “Be subject
therefore to every human creature for God’s sake.” It means wash-
ing the feet of others, as Jesus did at the Last Supper. “You call
me Master and Lord,” He said, “and rightly so, for that is what I
am. Then if I, your Lord have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example; you are to do
as I have done for you.” To serve others, not to seek power over
them. Not to dominate, not to judge others.^18Maurin, similarly, maintained that “Self-giving love...was the ex-
ample Christ gave to his followers and was the consistent witness