Distributism, also known as distributionism and distributivism, is a third-way economic philosophy formulated by such Roman Catholic thinkers as G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc to apply the principles of social justice articulated by the Roman Catholic Church, especially in Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum
Distributism has often been described as a third way of economic order besides socialism and capitalism. However, some have seen it more as an aspiration, which has been successfully realised in the short term by commitment to the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity (these being built into financially independent local co-operatives).

History

Private property
The kind of economic order envisioned by the early distributist thinkers would involve the return to some sort of guild system. The present existence of labor unions does not constitute a realization of this facet of distributist economic order, as labour unions are organized along class lines to promote class interests, whereas Guilds are mixed class syndicates composed of both employers and employees cooperating for mutual benefit.

Guild system
Distributism favors the elimination of the current private bank system, or in any case, its profit-making basis. This does not necessarily entail nationalization, but would probably require government involvement of some sort.

Banks

Social theory
Distributism sees the trinitarian human family of one male, one female, and their children as the central and primary social unit of human ordering and the principal unit of a functioning distributist society and civilization. This unit is also the basis of a multi-generational extended family, which is embedded in socially as well as genetically inter-related communities, nations, etc., and ultimately in the whole human family past, present and future. The economic system of a society should therefore be focussed primarily on the flourishing of the family unit, but not in isolation: at the appropriate level of family context, as is intended in the principle of subsidiarity. Distributism reflects this doctrine most evidently by promoting the family, rather than the individual, as the basic type of owner; that is, distributism seeks to ensure that most families, rather than most individuals, will be owners of productive property. The family is, then, vitally important to the very core of distributist thought.

The human family
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 which can be performed by a smaller unit. Pope Pius XI, in Quadragesimo Anno, provided the classical statement of the principle: "[J]ust as it is wrong to withdraw from the individual and commit to the community at large what private enterprise and industry can accomplish, so, too, it is an injustice, a grave evil and a disturbance of right order for a larger and higher organization to arrogate to itself functions which can be performed efficiently by smaller and lower bodies." To prevent large private organizations from thus dominating the body politic, distributism applies this principle of subsidiarity to economic as well as to social and political action.

Subsidiarity
Distributism promotes a society of artisans and culture. This is influenced by an emphasis on small business, promotion of local culture, and favoring of small production over capitalistic mass production. A society of artisans promotes the distributist ideal of the unification of capital, ownership, and production rather than what distributism sees as an alienation of man from work.

Society of artisans
Distributism favors the elimination of social security on the basis that it further alienates man by making him more dependent on the Servile State. Distributists such as Dorothy Day did not favor social security when it was introduced by the United States government. This rejection of this new program was due to the direct influence of the ideas of Hilaire Belloc over American distributists.

Social security

Geopolitical theory
Distributism does not favor one set of political order over another, from democracy to monarchism. Distributism does not necessarily support anarchism, but some distributists, such as Dorothy Day, were also anarchists (though most Catholic Distributists look down on this). Distributism does not support political orders that go towards extremes of individualism or statism.

Political order
Distributism does not attach itself to one national political party or another in any part of the world. There are some modern political parties in the UK which espouse distributist views.

Political parties
Distributists usually use Just War Theory in determining whether a war should be fought or not. Historical positions of distributist thinkers provides insight into a distributist position on war. Both Belloc and Chesterton opposed British imperialism in general, as well as specifically opposing the Second Boer War, but supported British involvement in World War I.

War

Influence
Distributism is known to have had an influence on the economist E.F. Schumacher, a convert to Catholicism.

E.F. Schumacher
The Mondragón Cooperative Corporation based out of the Basque Country in the 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, McNabb and the other founders of distributism. The Mondragón cooperative, however, may be considered "distributist" in the sense of valuing the ideal of the worker owning the means of production as much as possible, while some of its more international and capitalistic leanings seem to veer away from a true distributism.

Mondragón Cooperative Corporation
Distributist ideas were put into practice by The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic, a group of artists and craftsmen who establish a community 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 until 1989.

The Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic

Controversy
Controversy in the Distributist community has occurred because of associations of distributism with some ultranationalist groups. This would include groups such as the British National Party which claims to hold some distributist views. It should also be noted that most Distributists are Catholic and follow the Church's rejection of secular nationalism.

Ultranationalist groups

Rerum Novarum (1891) papal encyclical by Pope Leo XIII
Quadragesimo Anno (1931) papal encyclical by Pope Pius XI
Centesimus Annus (1991) papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II
What's Wrong with the World (1910) by G. K. Chesterton
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 by Hilaire Belloc Key texts

Hilaire Belloc
Cecil Chesterton
G.K. Chesterton
Dorothy Day
Fr. Vincent McNabb O.P.
Arthur Penty
Peter Maurin
B.A. Santamaria Thinkers

agrarianism
corporatism
mutualism
personalism
social credit See also

Links unfavorable to distributism

The Distributism Debate
British National Library's Archives of the defunct Distributist Party of the UK