by Dr. Ovidiu Hurduzeu Distributism is firmly grounded in the Western intellectual and religious tradition. Its political economy is based on the moral principles of the Catholic social teaching; its inspiring terms derive their vigor from the practice of “local” and “decentralized” economies of yesterday and today – where “local ” and “decentralized” are defined in … Continue reading
by Ovidiu Hurduzeu The newly-formed Romanian Distributist League “Ion Mihalache” marks a first victory for Distributism in Romania. It should come as no surprise that Distributism is being touted as the best vehicle for radical change in this post-communist country. In the post-World I period, Distributism found concrete success in Central and Eastern Europe. When the peasant parties came to power, they embarked … Continue reading
The widespread distribution of productive property is the primary goal of Distributism; however, other principles also inform Distributism’s pursuit of this goal. The first of these is the principle of subsidiarity. Pope Leo XIII speaks little about it; however, Pope Pius XI, in a daughter encyclical Quadragesimo Anno, teaches it very clearly. The principle of subsidiarity is … Continue reading
by Donald P. Goodman Catholic social teaching is as old as Catholicism; the Scriptures themselves teach the basics of economic justice. Our Lord reminds us that the laborer is due a just wage for his work,[1] for example; the Didache tells us that greed is wickedness,[2] and that “advocates for the rich” shall be condemned.[3] Christian … Continue reading
by Angelo Matera Who was E.F. Schumacher? And why should Catholics be interested in his ideas? Best-selling Catholic author Joseph Pearce explains why ‘small is still beautiful,’ and how Schumacher influenced his own conversion to Catholicism.Say the name “Joseph Pearce” and you think of the Christian literary figures he’s examined in his critically-acclaimed biographies—J.R.R. Tolkien, … Continue reading
Joseph Pearce’s current comments (…) on distributism, a subject on which he is an internationally respected scholar (I first heard his name in an address in Sydney on the theme), has brought to my mind a fact about Shakespeare which seems to have escaped scholarly notice. In King Lear the dramatist shows us how people afflicted with … Continue reading
by Dale Ahlquist I remember a certain kind of television commercial that I vaguely saw about a million times when I was growing up. It was for some breakfast cereal. It would always end with a quick parting shot of the bowl of cereal surrounded by a lot of other food with the announcer’s voiceover urgently telling us, … Continue reading