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Distributism is an
economic theory Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyze ...
asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching principles, especially
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...
's teachings in his encyclical '' Rerum novarum'' (1891) and Pope Pius XI in '' Quadragesimo anno'' (1931). It has influenced Anglo Christian Democratic movements, and has been recognized as one of many influences on the social market economy. Distributism views '' laissez-faire''
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
and state socialism as equally flawed and exploitative, favouring instead small independent craftsmen and producers, or if that is not possible, economic mechanisms such as cooperatives and member-owned mutual organisations as well as small to medium enterprises and large-scale competition law reform such as antitrust regulations. Christian democratic political parties such as the
American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian-democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state ...
have advocated distributism alongside social market economy in their economic policies and party platform.


Overview

According to distributists, the right to property is a fundamental right,Shiach, Morag (2004). ''Modernism, Labour and Selfhood in British Literature and Culture, 1890–1930''.
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...
. p. 224.
and the
means of production The means of production is a term which describes land, labor and capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or services); however, the term can also refer to anything that is used to produce products. It can also be used as a ...
should be spread as widely as possible rather than being centralised under the control of the state ( statocracy), a few individuals ( plutocracy), or corporations ( corporatocracy). Therefore, distributism advocates a society marked by widespread property ownership.Zwick, Mark and Louise (2004). ''The Catholic Worker Movement: Intellectual and Spiritual Origins ''. Paulist Press. p. 156. Cooperative economist Race Mathews argues that such a system is key to creating a just social order. Distributism has often been described in opposition to both '' laissez-faire''
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
and state socialism which distributists see as equally flawed and exploitative.Prentiss, Craig R. (2008). ''Debating God's Economy: Social Justice in America on the Eve of Vatican II''. Penn State University Press. p. 77. Furthermore, some distributists argue that state capitalism and state socialism are the logical conclusion of
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
as capitalism's concentrated powers eventually capture the state. Thomas Storck argues: "Both socialism and capitalism are products of the European Enlightenment and are thus modernising and anti-traditional forces. In contrast, distributism seeks to subordinate economic activity to human life as a whole, to our spiritual life, our intellectual life, our family life." A few distributists were influenced by the economic ideas of
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...
and his mutualist economic theory. Therefore the lesser-known anarchist branch of distributism of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement could be considered a form of free-market libertarian socialism due to their opposition to state capitalism and state socialism. Some have seen it more as an aspiration, successfully realised in the short term by the commitment to the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity (built into financially independent local cooperatives and small family businesses). However, proponents also cite such periods as the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
as examples of the long-term historical viability of distributism. Particularly influential in the development of distributist theory were
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
authors G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, the ''Chesterbelloc'', two of distributism's earliest and strongest proponents.Riff, Michael A. (1990). ''Dictionary of Modern Political Ideologies''. Manchester University Press. p. 35. In the early 21st century, Arthur W. Hunt III in ''
The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...
'' and Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry in ''
First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religi ...
'' speculated on
Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...
's position on distributism after he denounced unfettered capitalism in his apostolic exhortation '' Evangelii gaudium'', in which he stated: "Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. ..A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which has taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits."


Background

The mid-to-late 19th century witnessed an increase in the popularity of political Catholicism across
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. According to historian Michael A. Riff, a common feature of these movements was opposition to
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...
, capitalism, and socialism. In 1891
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...
promulgated '' Rerum novarum'', in which he addressed the "misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class" and spoke of how "a small number of very rich men" had been able to "lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself". Affirmed in the encyclical was the right of all men to own property, the necessity of a system that allowed "as many as possible of the people to become owners",Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 46. the duty of employers to provide safe
working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions This is a list of topics on working time and conditions. Legislation * See :Employment law Working time * See :Working time * Flextime Working conditions * Bios ...
and sufficient wages, and the right of workers to unionise.Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 49. Common and
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
property ownership was expressly dismissed as a means of helping the poor. Around the start of the 20th century, G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc drew together the disparate experiences of the various cooperatives and friendly societies in Northern England, Ireland, and Northern Europe into a coherent political theory which specifically advocated widespread private ownership of housing and control of industry through owner-operated small businesses and worker-controlled cooperatives. In the United States in the 1930s, distributism was treated in numerous essays by Chesterton, Belloc and others in '' The American Review'', published and edited by
Seward Collins Seward Bishop Collins (April 22, 1899 – December 8, 1952) was an American New York socialite and publisher. By the end of the 1920s, he was a self-described "fascist". Biography Collins was born in Syracuse, New York to Irish Catholic paren ...
. Pivotal among Belloc's and Chesterton's other works regarding distributism are ''
The Servile State ''The Servile State'' is a 1912 book by Hilaire Belloc, primarily a history of capitalism in Europe, and a repudiation of the convergence of big business with the state. Belloc lays out two alternatives: distributism and collectivism. Overview ...
'' and ''Outline of Sanity''. Although a majority of distributism's later supporters were not Catholics and many were, in fact, former radical socialists who had become disillusioned with socialism, distributist thought was adopted by the Catholic Worker Movement, conjoining it with the thought of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin concerning localized and independent communities. It also influenced the thought behind the Antigonish Movement, which implemented cooperatives and other measures to aid the poor in the Canadian Maritimes. Race Mathews has documented its practical implementation in the form of local cooperatives in his 1999 book ''Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stakeholder Society''.


Political spectrum

The position of distributists, when compared to other political philosophies, is somewhat paradoxical and complicated (see triangulation). Firmly entrenched in an
organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
but very English Catholicism, advocating culturally traditionalist and agrarian values, directly challenging the precepts of Whig history—Belloc was nonetheless an MP for the Liberal Party, and Chesterton once stated, "As much as I ever did, more than I ever did, I believe in Liberalism. But there was a rosy time of innocence when I believed in Liberals". This
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
is different from most modern forms, taking influence from William Cobbett and John Ruskin, who combined elements of radicalism, challenging the establishment position, but from a perspective of renovation, not revolution; seeing themselves as trying to restore the traditional liberties of England and her people which had been taken away from them, amongst other things, since the Industrial Revolution. While converging with some aspects of traditional Toryism, especially an appreciation of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and organic society, there were several points of significant contention. While many Tories were strongly opposed to reform, the distributists, in some instances, saw this not as conserving a legitimate traditional concept of England but, in many cases, entrenching harmful errors and innovations. Belloc was quite explicit in his opposition to
Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
as a concept and schism from the Catholic Church in general, considering the division of Christendom in the 16th century as one of the most harmful events in European history. On the other hand, elements of Toryism were quite intransigent when it came to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
as the established church, some even spurning their original legitimist ultra-royalist principles in regards to James II to uphold it. Much of Dorothy L. Sayers' writings on social and economic matters have an affinity with distributism. She may have been influenced by them or have come to similar conclusions on her own. As an Anglican, her reasonings are rooted in the theologies of
Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...
and Incarnation and slightly differ from the Catholic Chesterton and Belloc.


Economic theory


Private property

Under such a system, most people would be able to earn a living without having to rely on the use of the
property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
of others to do so. Examples of people earning a living in this way would be farmers who own their land and related machinery, carpenters and plumbers who own their tools, among others. The cooperative approach advances beyond this perspective to recognise that such property and equipment may be co-owned by local communities larger than a family, e.g. partners in a business. In ''Rerum novarum'', Leo XIII states that people are likely to work harder and with greater commitment if they possess the land on which they labour, which in turn will benefit them and their families as workers will be able to provide for themselves and their household. He puts forward the idea that when men have the opportunity to possess property and work on it, they will "learn to love the very soil which yields in response to the labor of their hands, not only food to eat, but an abundance of the good things for themselves and those that are dear to them". He also states that owning property is beneficial for a person and their family and is, in fact, a right due to God having "given the earth for the use and enjoyment of the whole human race". G. K. Chesterton presents similar views in his 1910 book, ''What's Wrong with the World''. Chesterton believes that whilst God has limitless capabilities, man has limited abilities in terms of creation. Therefore, man is entitled to own property and treat it as he sees fit, stating: "Property is merely the art of the democracy. It means that every man should have something that he can shape in his own image, as he is shaped in the image of heaven. But because he is not God, but only a graven image of God, his self-expression must deal with limits; properly with limits that are strict and even small." Chesterton summed up his distributist views in the phrase " Three acres and a cow". According to Belloc, the distributive state (the state which has implemented distributism) contains "an agglomeration of families of varying wealth, but by far the greater number of owners of the means of production". This broader distribution does not extend to all property but only to productive property; that is, that property which produces wealth, namely, the things needed for man to survive. It includes land, tools, and so on. Distributism allows society to have public goods such as parks and transit systems. Distributists accept that wage labour will remain a small part of the economy, with small business owners hiring employees, usually young, inexperienced people.


Guild system

The economic order envisaged by the early distributist thinkers would involve the return to some
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometim ...
system. The existence of labour unions does not constitute a realization of this facet of distributist economic order, as labour unions are organized along
class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
lines to promote class interests and frequently class struggle. In contrast, guilds are mixed-class syndicates composed of employers and employees cooperating for mutual benefit, promoting class collaboration. This does not suggest that distributists are against trade unions, however.


Banking and insurance system

Distributism favours the dissolution of the private banking and insurance system in favour of financial
cooperatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...
and mutuals such as
credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provis ...
s, building societies, mutual banks and friendly societies. Distributists disagree with the profit-making basis in charging interest. Dorothy Day, for example, suggested abolishing legal enforcement of interest-rate contracts ( usury) issued by private banks. It would not entail nationalization but could involve government involvement of some sort.


Antitrust legislation

Distributism appears to have one of its most significant influences in antitrust legislation in America and Europe, designed to break up monopolies and excessive concentration of market power in one or only a few companies, trusts, interests, or cartels. Embodying the philosophy explained by Chesterton above, that too much capitalism means too few capitalists, not too many, America's extensive antitrust legislation seeks to prevent the concentration of market power in a given industry into too few hands. Requiring that no company gain too great a share of any market is an example of how distributism has found its way into
government policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public ...
. This legislation assumes that decentralized economic activity among many different industry participants is better for the economy than having one or a few prominent players in an industry. Note that antitrust regulation does take into account cases when only large companies are viable because of the nature of an industry, as in the case of
natural monopolies A natural monopoly is a monopoly in an industry in which high infrastructural costs and other barriers to entry relative to the size of the market give the largest supplier in an industry, often the first supplier in a market, an overwhelming adv ...
like electricity distribution. It also accepts that mergers and acquisitions may improve consumer welfare; however, it prefers more economic agents to fewer, which generally improves
competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, ind ...
.


Social credit

Social credit is an interdisciplinary distributive philosophy developed by
C. H. Douglas Major Clifford Hugh "C. H." Douglas, MIMechE, MIEE (20 January 1879 – 29 September 1952), was a British engineer and pioneer of the social credit economic reform movement. Education and engineering career C.H. Douglas was born in either Edg ...
(1879–1952), a British engineer who wrote a book by that name in 1924. It encompasses the fields of economics, political science, history, accounting, and physics. Its policies are designed, according to Douglas, to disperse economic and political power to individuals.


Redistribution of wealth and productive assets

Distributism requires either direct or indirect distribution of the
means of production The means of production is a term which describes land, labor and capital that can be used to produce products (such as goods or services); however, the term can also refer to anything that is used to produce products. It can also be used as a ...
(productive assets)⁠—in some ideological circles including the redistribution of wealth—to a wide portion of society instead of concentrating it in the hands of a minority of wealthy elites (as seen in its criticism of certain varieties of
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...
) or the hands of the state (as seen in its criticism of certain varieties of
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
and
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...
). More capitalist-oriented supporters support distributism-influenced social capitalism (also known as a social market economy), while more socialist-oriented supporters support distributism-influenced libertarian socialism. Examples of methods of distributism include direct productive property redistribution, taxation of excessive property ownership, and small-business subsidization.


Social theory


Human family

G. K. Chesterton considered one's home and family the centrepiece of society. He recognized the family unit and home as centrepieces of living and believed that every man should have their property and home to enable him to raise and support his family. Distributists recognize that strengthening and protecting the family requires that society be nurturing. Many proponents of distributism favour enabling the flourishing of family-owned businesses as a central aim of promoting the family unit.


Subsidiarity

Distributism puts great emphasis on the principle of subsidiarity. This principle holds that no larger unit (whether social, economic, or political) should perform a function that a smaller unit can perform. In '' Quadragesimo anno'', Pope Pius XI provided the classical statement of the principle: "Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do".Pope Pius XI,
Quadragesimo anno
', 1931.
Thus, any activity of production (which distributism holds to be the most critical part of any economy) ought to be performed by the smallest possible unit. This helps support distributism's argument that smaller units, families, if possible, ought to be in control of the means of production rather than the large units typical of modern economies. In ''Quadragesimo anno'', Pope Pius XI further stated that "every social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them". To prevent large private organizations from thus dominating the body politic, distributism applies this principle of subsidiarity to economic as well as social and political action.


Social security

Distributists believe in a society that is as self-reliant as possible. Some may advocate that families and charitable organisations ought to provide an alternative to social security as a means of advancing the principles of subsidiary. However, many distributists reject the idea of eliminating social security. Distributists like Dorothy Day did not favour social security when the United States government introduced it. This rejection of the new program was due to the direct influence of the ideas of Hilaire Belloc over American distributists. The Democratic Labour Party of Australia espouses distributism and does not hold the view of favouring the elimination of social security who, for instance, wish to " ise the level of student income support payments to the Henderson poverty line". The
American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian-democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state ...
has a platform of favouring an adequate social security system, stating: "We advocate for social safety nets that adequately provide for the material needs of the most vulnerable in society".


Society of artisans

Distributism promotes a society of artisans and culture. This is influenced by an emphasis on small business, promoting local culture, and favouring small production over capitalistic or socialist mass production. A society of artisans promotes the distributist ideal of the unification of capital, ownership, and production rather than what distributism sees as the alienation of man from work. Distributism favours a technological 'progression' in which the technological advances of our day are such that the craftsman and artisan can access them from their home or place of business. Examples of this are 3d printers or digital printing of books or small artisan woodshops. In other cases distributism favors 'regression' to a pre- Industrial Revolution lifestyle since it explicitly favours the craftsman over factories and other industrial centres. Products such as food and clothing would preferably be returned to local producers and artisans instead of being mass-produced nationally or overseas. This 'regression' can either take the form of returning to old ways of production or advances in technology which reduce the physical size of industrial operations so that individuals may produce better results.


Geopolitical theory


Political order

Distributism does not favour one political order over another (political accidentalism). While some distributists such as Dorothy Day have been anarchists, it should be remembered that most Chestertonian distributists are opposed to the mere concept of anarchism. Chesterton thought that distributism would benefit from the discipline that theoretical analysis imposes and that distributism is best seen as a widely encompassing concept inside of which any number of interpretations and perspectives can fit. This concept should fit a political system broadly characterized by widespread ownership of productive property.


Political parties

In the United States, the
American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian-democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state ...
generally adheres to Distributist principles as its economic model. The Brazilian political party,
Humanist Party of Solidarity The Humanist Party of Solidarity ( pt, Partido Humanista da Solidariedade) was a Brazilian political party. Its electoral code was 31 and it became a registered political party on 6 July 1995 with the denomination of "National Solidarity Party" ...
, is a distributist party, alongside the National Distributist Party in England, and the Democratic Labour Party in Australia. Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam view their ''Grand New Party'', a roadmap for revising the Republican Party in the United States, as "a book written in the distributist tradition". The Pirate Party of Romania is also considered to be a distributist party.


War

Distributists usually use
just war theory The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war i ...
in determining whether a war should be fought or not. Historical positions of distributist thinkers provide insight into a distributist position on war. Belloc and Chesterton opposed British imperialism in general and explicitly opposed the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...
, but they supported British involvement in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. On the other hand, prominent distributists such as Dorothy Day and those involved in the Catholic Worker Movement were/are strict
pacifists Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...
, even condemning involvement in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
at much personal cost.


Influence


E. F. Schumacher

Distributism is known to have influenced the economist E. F. Schumacher, a convert to Catholicism.


Mondragon Corporation

The Mondragon Corporation, based in the Basque Country in a region of Spain and France, was founded by a Catholic priest, Father José María Arizmendiarrieta, who seems to have been influenced by the same Catholic social and economic teachings that inspired Belloc, Chesterton, Father Vincent McNabb, and the other founders of distributism.


Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic

Distributist ideas were put into practice by The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, a group of artists and craftsmen who established a community in
Ditchling Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was signed in Ditchling ...
, Sussex, England, in 1920, with the motto "Men rich in virtue studying beautifulness living in peace in their houses". The guild sought to recreate an idealised medieval lifestyle in the manner of the Arts and Crafts Movement. It survived for almost 70 years until 1989.


Big Society

The
Big Society The Big Society was a sociopolitical concept of the first 15 years of the 21st century, that was developed by the populist Steve Hilton, that sought to integrate free market economics with a conservative paternalist conception of the social co ...
was the flagship policy idea of the 2010 UK Conservative Party general election manifesto. Some distributists claim that the rhetorical marketing of this policy was influenced by aphorisms of the distributist ideology and promotes distributism.A Potential Step in the Right Direction
21 July 2010
It purportedly formed a part of the legislative programme of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement.Cameron and Clegg set out 'big society' policy ideas
BBC News 18-May-2010
The stated aim was "to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building a big society that will 'take power away from politicians and give it to people.'"Government launches "Big Society" programme
10 Downing Street website 18-May-2010
The idea of the Big Society was suggested by Steve Hilton, who worked as director of strategy for David Cameron during the Coalition government before moving on to live and work in California. Big Society gradually declined as an instrument of government policy throughout the 2010–2015 government.


List of Distributist Parties


Current

* Australia - Democratic Labour Party * Romania - Pirate Party Romania * United Kingdom - National Distributist Party * United States -
American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian-democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state ...


Historical


Notable distributists


Historical

*
Herbert Agar Herbert Sebastian Agar (29 September 1897 – 24 November 1980) was an American journalist and historian, and an editor of the '' Louisville Courier-Journal''. Early life Herbert Sebastian Agar was born September 29, 1897 in New Rochelle, New Yor ...
* Hilaire Belloc * L. Brent Bozell Jr. * Cecil Chesterton * G. K. Chesterton *
Seward Collins Seward Bishop Collins (April 22, 1899 – December 8, 1952) was an American New York socialite and publisher. By the end of the 1920s, he was a self-described "fascist". Biography Collins was born in Syracuse, New York to Irish Catholic paren ...
* Dorothy Day * Adam Doboszyński * Peter Maurin *
Horacio de la Costa Horacio Villamayor de la Costa (May 9, 1916 – March 20, 1977) was the first Filipino Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines, and a recognized authority in Philippine and Asian culture and history. A writer, scholar, and ...
*
J. P. de Fonseka Joseph Peter de Fonseka (1897–1948) was a Sri Lankan essayist and editor. His essays were noted for their trenchant humour and defence of Roman Catholic values, in the style of G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. He was a friend and collaborator ...
*
Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cr ...
* Douglas Hyde *
Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis) (15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist, supporter of Welsh independence and was a co-found ...
* Vincent McNabb * Arthur Penty * Hilary Pepler * Óscar Romero *
William Purcell Witcutt William Purcell Witcutt (1908–1972) was a notable British religious minister, folklorist and author. He was born into the Anglican church, converted to Catholicism in the early 1930s, and returned to the Church of England in the mid-1950s. H ...
* Dorothy L. Sayers * J. R. R. Tolkien


Contemporary

*
Dale Ahlquist Dale Ahlquist (born June 14, 1958) is an American author and advocate of the thought of G. K. Chesterton. Ahlquist is the president and co-founder of the American Chesterton Society and the publisher of its magazine, ''Gilbert''. He is also th ...
* Phillip Blond *
Allan C. Carlson Allan C. Carlson (born 1949 in Des Moines, Iowa) is a scholar and former professor of history at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. He is the President Emeritus of the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society, former director of the ...
*
Charles A. Coulombe Roy-Charles A. Coulombe (born November 8, 1960), known as Charles Coulombe, is an American Catholic author, historian, and lecturer. Coulombe is known for his advocacy of monarchism. Early life and education Coulombe was born in Manhattan on ...
* Sean Domencic * Bill Kauffman * Race Mathews * Joseph Pearce * *
Douglas Rushkoff Douglas Mark Rushkoff (born February 18, 1961) is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture and his advocacy of open sour ...
* John Sharpe * John C. Médaille * Richard Williamson


Key texts


Rerum novarum (1891)
papal encyclical by Pope Leo XIII.

papal encyclical by Pope Pius XI.

papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II.

apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis.
''What's Wrong with the World'' (1910)
by G. K. Chesterton �
eText

''The Outline of Sanity'' (1927)
by G. K. Chesterton.
''Utopia of Usurers'' (1917)
by G. K. Chesterton.
''The Servile State'' (1912)
by Hilaire Belloc. * ''An Essay on The Restoration of Property'' (1936) by Hilaire Belloc . * ''Jobs of Our Own'' (1999) by Race Mathews .


See also

; Related concepts * Agrarianism *
Bioregionalism Bioregionalism is a philosophy that suggests that political, cultural, and economic systems are more sustainable and just if they are organized around naturally defined areas called bioregions, similar to ecoregions. Bioregions are defined ...
* Catholic social teaching *
Distributed economy ''Distributed economies'' (DE) is a term that was coined by Allan Johansson et al. in 2005.Johansson A, Kisch P, Mirata M., 2005Distributed economies - A new engine for innovation . Journal of Cleaner Production 2005;13:971-9 Definition There is no ...
* Distributive justice * Localism (politics) *
Market socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy, or one that contains a mix of worker-owned, nationalized, and privately owned ...
* Mutual aid (organization theory) *
Predistribution Pre-distribution (or Predistribution) is the idea that the state should try to prevent inequalities occurring in the first place rather than ameliorating them via tax and benefits once they have occurred, as occurs under redistribution. The term ...
* Subsidiarity ; Similar positions * Anarcho-syndicalism * Christian democracy *
Gandhian economics Gandhian economics is a school of economic thought based on the spiritual and socio-economic principles expounded by Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. It is largely characterised by rejection of the concept of the human being as a rational actor alway ...
* Georgism * Guild socialism * Mutualism (economic theory) *
Traditionalist conservatism Traditionalist conservatism, often known as classical conservatism, is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes the importance of transcendent moral principles, manifested through certain natural laws to which society should adhere ...
* Ujamaa


References


Further reading

* Cooney, Anthony. ''Distributism''. * Kurland, Norman
''The Just Third Way: Basic Principles of Economic and Social Justice''
Center for Economic and Social Justice * Sagar, S. ''Distributism''. *
Shaw v Chesterton: a Debate between George Bernard Shaw and G. K. Chesterton
'.
"Union Square Speech"
by Dorothy Day *
Distributism as a means of achieving third way economics
', a paper for the
Secular Party of Australia The Secular Party of Australia is a minor Australian political party, founded in January 2006 and registered as a federal political party in 2010.
written by Richard Howard of the Humanist Society of New South Wales * Pabst, Adrian
"Pope Benedict's call for a civil economy"
''The Guardian'', 20 July 2009.


External links


The Distributist Review
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