View source for Distributism

{{Short description|Economic theory promoting local control}}
{{redirect|Distributivism|the algebraic concept|Distributivity}}
{{Multiple issues|{{Original research|date=March 2021}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2021}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Christian democracy sidebar|expanded=principles}}
{{Christian socialism sidebar|variants}}
{{social teachings of the popes}}
{{basic forms of government}}
'''Distributism''' is an [[economic theory]] asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated.<ref name=Zwick/> Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon [[Catholic social teaching]] principles, especially those of [[Pope Leo XIII]] in his [[encyclical]] ''[[Rerum novarum]]'' (1891) and [[Pope Pius XI]] in ''[[Quadragesimo anno]]'' (1931).<ref>Coulter, Michael (2007). ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science and Social Policy''. [[Scarecrow Press]]. p. 85. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-5906-7}}</ref><ref>McConkey, Dale; Lawler, Peter (2003). ''Faith, Morality, and Civil Society''. [[Lexington Books]]. p. 50. {{ISBN|978-0-7391-0483-5}}</ref><ref>[[Patrick Allitt|Allitt, Patrick]] (2000). ''Catholic Converts: British and American Intellectuals Turn to Rome''. [[Cornell University Press]]. p. 206. {{ISBN|978-0-8014-8663-0}}</ref> It has influenced Anglo [[Christian Democratic]] movements,<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Caldecott |first=Stratford |date=1991 |title=Distributism and Christian Democracy |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/chesterton/content/chesterton_1991_0017_0001_0141_0142 |journal=The Chesterton Review |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=141–142|doi=10.5840/chesterton199117151 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and has been recognized as one of many influences on the [[social market economy]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Belloc |first=Hillarie |title=Standard Texts on the Social Market Economy: Two Centuries of Discussion |publisher=Ludwif-Ehard-Stiftung |year=1982 |editor-last=Wünsche |editor-first=Horst Friedrich |pages=331–334 |chapter=The Restoration of Property |editor-last2=Stützel |editor-first2=Wolfgang |editor-last3=Watrin |editor-first3=Christian |editor-last4=Willgerodt |editor-first4=Hans |editor-last5=Hohmann |editor-first5=Karl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Corrin |first=Jay P. |date=1988 |title=The Neo-Distributism of Friedrich A. Hayek and Wilhelm Röpke |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_thought_1988-12_63_251/page/396/mode/2up |journal=Thought |volume=63 |issue=251 |pages=397–412|doi=10.5840/thought198863429 }}</ref>

Distributism views ''[[laissez-faire]]'' [[capitalism]] and [[state socialism]] as equally flawed and exploitative, due to their extreme concentration of ownership. Instead, it favours small independent craftsmen and producers; or, if that is not possible, economic mechanisms such as [[cooperative]]s and member-owned [[mutual organization|mutual organisation]]s, as well as [[Small and medium-sized enterprises|small to medium enterprises]] and vigorous [[competition law|anti-trust laws]] to restrain or eliminate overweening economic power. [[Christian democratic]] political parties such as the [[American Solidarity Party]] have advocated distributism alongside [[social market economy]] in their economic policies and party platform.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://solidarity-party.org/about-us/platform/#Economics|title=Platform|publisher=American Solidarity Party|access-date=14 October 2020|quote=The American Solidarity Party believes that political economy (economics) is a branch of political ethics, and therefore rejects models of economic behavior that undermine human dignity with greed and naked self-interest. We advocate for an economic system which focuses on creating a society of wide-spread ownership (sometimes referred to as 'distributism') rather than having the effect of degrading the human person as a cog in the machine.|archive-date=10 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610024059/https://solidarity-party.org/about-us/platform/#Economics|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Overview ==
According to distributists, the [[right to property]] is a fundamental right,<ref name=":0">Shiach, Morag (2004). ''Modernism, Labour and Selfhood in British Literature and Culture, 1890–1930''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. p. 224. {{ISBN|978-0-521-83459-9}}</ref> and the [[means of production]] 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.<ref name=Zwick>Zwick, Mark and Louise (2004). ''The Catholic Worker Movement: Intellectual and Spiritual Origins ''. [[Paulist Press]]. p. 156. {{ISBN|978-0-8091-4315-3}}</ref> [[Cooperative economist]] [[Race Mathews]] argues that such a system is key to creating a just [[social order]].<ref>Gibson-Graham, J.K. (2006). ''A Postcapitalist Politics''. [[University of Minnesota Press]]. p. 224. {{ISBN|978-0-8166-4804-7}}.</ref>

Distributism has often been described in opposition to both ''[[laissez-faire]]'' [[capitalism]] and [[state socialism]]<ref>Boyle, David; Simms, Andrew (2009). ''The New Economics''. [[Routledge]]. p. 20. {{ISBN|978-1-84407-675-8}}</ref><ref>Novak, Michael; Younkins, Edward W. (2001). ''Three in One: Essays on Democratic Capitalism, 1976–2000''. [[Rowman and Littlefield]]. p. 152. {{ISBN|978-0-7425-1171-2}}</ref> which distributists see as equally flawed and exploitative.<ref name="Prentiss, Craig R. 2008 p. 77">Prentiss, Craig R. (2008). ''Debating God's Economy: Social Justice in America on the Eve of Vatican II''. [[Penn State University Press]]. p. 77. {{ISBN|978-0-271-03341-9}}</ref> Furthermore, some distributists argue that state capitalism and state socialism are the logical conclusion of [[capitalism]] as capitalism's concentrated powers eventually capture the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2012/12/why-isnt-romania-rich/|title=Why Isn't Romania Rich?|website=Front Porch Republic|date=5 December 2012 |access-date=8 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsnsw.asn.au/Distributism.html|title=Distributism as an equalitarian economic policy.|website=Humanist Society of New South Wales Inc.|access-date=8 August 2017}}</ref> Thomas Storck argues: "Both socialism and capitalism are products of the [[Age of Enlightenment|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."<ref>Storck, Thomas. "Capitalism and Distributism: two systems at war," in ''Beyond Capitalism & Socialism''. Tobias J. Lanz, ed. IHS Press, 2008. p. 75</ref> A few distributists, including [[Dorothy Day]],<ref>Dorothy, Day. ''On Pilgrimage''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999. p. 40.</ref> were influenced by the economic ideas of [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]] and his [[Mutualism (economic theory)|mutualist]] economic theory.<ref>McKay, Iain. ''An Anarchist FAQ Volume One''. AK Press, 2007. p. 75</ref> The lesser-known [[anarchist]] branch of distributism of Day and the [[Catholic Worker Movement]] can be considered a form of free-market [[libertarian socialism]] due to their opposition to state capitalism and state socialism.<ref>McKay, Iain. ''An Anarchist FAQ Volume One''. AK Press, 2007. p. 23</ref>

Some have seen it more as an aspiration, successfully realised in the short term by the commitment to the principles of [[subsidiarity]] and [[Social solidarity|solidarity]] (built into financially independent local [[cooperative]]s and small [[family business]]es). However, proponents also cite such periods as the [[Middle Ages]] as examples of the long-term historical viability of distributism.<ref>Hilaire Belloc, "The Servile Institution Dissolved," ''The Servile State'', (1913; reprint, Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1977), 71–83.</ref> Particularly influential in the development of distributist theory were [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] authors [[G. K. Chesterton]] and [[Hilaire Belloc]],<ref name="Prentiss, Craig R. 2008 p. 77"/> two of distributism's earliest and strongest proponents.<ref>Fitzgerald, Ross et al. (2003). ''The Pope's Battalions: Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split''. [[University of Queensland Press]]. p. 21. {{ISBN|978-0-7022-3389-0}}</ref><ref name="Riff, Michael A. 1990 p. 35">Riff, Michael A. (1990). ''Dictionary of Modern Political Ideologies''. [[Manchester University Press]]. p. 35. {{ISBN|978-0-7190-3289-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Schulz, Jr.|first=William Patric<!--do not change; this name is not spelled in error--> |date=2017|title=Dorothy Day's Distributism and Her Vision for Catholic Politics |degree=PhD |publisher=[[Louisiana State University]]}}</ref>

== Background ==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2023}}
The mid-to-late 19th century witnessed an increase in the popularity of [[political Catholicism]] across [[Europe]].<ref>Adams, Ian (1993). ''Political Ideology Today''. Manchester University Press. pp. 59–60. {{ISBN|978-0-7190-3347-6}}</ref> According to historian Michael A. Riff, a common feature of these movements was opposition to [[secularism]], capitalism, and socialism.<ref name="Riff, Michael A. 1990 p. 35"/> In 1891 [[Pope Leo XIII]] 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".<ref>Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 3.</ref> Affirmed in the encyclical was the right of all men to own property,<ref>Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 6.</ref> the necessity of a system that allowed "as many as possible of the people to become owners",<ref name="Leo XIII, Rerum novarum, 46">Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 46.</ref> the duty of employers to provide safe [[working conditions]]<ref>Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 42.</ref> and sufficient wages,<ref>Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 45.</ref> and the right of workers to [[Trade union|unionise]].<ref name="Leo XIII, Rerum novarum, 49">Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 49.</ref> [[Common ownership|Common]] and [[government ownership|government]] property ownership was expressly dismissed as a means of helping the poor.<ref>Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 4.</ref><ref>Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'', 15.</ref>

Around the start of the 20th century, [[G. K. Chesterton]] and [[Hilaire Belloc]] drew together the disparate experiences of the various cooperatives and [[Friendly society|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 (literary journal)|The American Review]]'', published and edited by [[Seward Collins]]. Pivotal among Belloc's and Chesterton's other works regarding distributism are ''[[The Servile State]]''<ref>Hilaire Belloc, ''The Servile State'', The Liberty Fund, originally published 1913.</ref> and ''Outline of Sanity''.<ref>G. K. Chesterton, [https://archive.org/details/theoutlineofsanity ''The Outline of Sanity''], IHS Press, 2002, originally published 1927.</ref>

== Economic theory ==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2023}}
{{economic systems sidebar|expanded=by ideology}}
=== Private property ===
[[File:Three acres and a cow.JPG|thumb|180px|Self-portrait of Chesterton based on the distributist slogan "[[Three acres and a cow]]"]]

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".<ref>Pope Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'' : 47, 1891</ref> He also states that owning property is beneficial for a person and his family and is, in fact, a right due to God having "given the earth for the use and enjoyment of the whole human race".<ref>Pope Leo XIII, ''Rerum novarum'':  8, 1891.</ref>

[[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."<ref>Chesterton, Gilbert Keith, ''What's Wrong with the World'' (1920), p. 59.</ref>

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.<ref>Hilaire Belloc, ''[[The Servile State]]'', 1913.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Baccelli |first1=Zebulon |title=Practical Policies for a Distributist Economy: Part Two |url=https://www.imagodeipolitics.org/2017/08/10/practical-policies-for-a-distributist-economy-part-two/ |website=imagodeipolitics.org |access-date=25 December 2019 |archive-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225194559/https://www.imagodeipolitics.org/2017/08/10/practical-policies-for-a-distributist-economy-part-two/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Aleman |first1=Richard |title=INDUSTRY: THE DISTRIBUTIST SOLUTION |url=https://distributistreview.com/industry-the-distributist-solution/ |website=distributistreview.com |access-date=25 December 2019}}</ref>

=== Redistribution of wealth and productive assets ===
Distributism requires either direct or indirect distribution of the [[means of production]] (productive assets)⁠—in some ideological circles including the [[Redistribution of income and wealth|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]]) or the hands of the state (as seen in its criticism of certain varieties of [[communism]] and [[socialism]]).<ref name="Zwick" /><ref name=":0" /> More capitalist-oriented supporters support distributism-influenced [[Social market economy|social capitalism (also known as a social market economy)]],<ref name="ASPPlatform">{{Cite news |title=Platform |language=en-US |work=American Solidarity Party |url=https://solidarity-party.org/platform/ |access-date=2018-04-12}}</ref><ref name="ASPWeb_CD3">{{cite web |title=Christian Democracy |url=https://solidarity-party.org/christian-democracy-2/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116020329/https://solidarity-party.org/christian-democracy-2/ |archive-date=16 November 2018 |access-date=18 July 2018 |website=American Solidarity Party}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite news |date=12 October 2016 |title=Did you know there's a third party based on Catholic teaching? |work=Catholic News Agency |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/34726/did-you-know-theres-a-third-party-based-on-catholic-teaching |access-date=1 January 2020 |quote=We believe in the economic concept of distributism as taught by GK Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.}}</ref> while more socialist-oriented supporters support distributism-influenced [[libertarian socialism]].<ref>McKay, Iain. ''An Anarchist FAQ: AFAQ Volume One.'' AK Press: Oakland, CA. (2008) pp 22.</ref> Examples of methods of distributism include direct productive property redistribution, taxation of excessive property ownership, and small-business subsidization.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-11-20 |title=A Misunderstanding About Method |url=https://www.chesterton.org/misunderstanding-about-method/ |access-date=2022-05-10 |website=Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Guild system ===
{{See also|Gremialismo}}

Distributists advocate in favour of the return of a guild system to help regulate industries to promote moral standards of professional conduct and economic equality among members of a guild. Such moral standards of professional conduct would typically focus on business conduct, working conditions and other issues in relation to industry specific matters such as workplace training standards.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Penty |first=Arthur |title=Distributism: A Manifesto |publisher=The Real Press |date=21 October 2019 |isbn=9781912119820}}</ref>

=== Banks ===
Distributism favours cooperative and mutual banking institutions such as credit unions, building societies and mutual banks. This is considered to be the preferred alternative to [[private bank]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=T. S. I. |title=G K CHESTERTON, HILAIRE BELLOC AND DISTRIBUTISM DOWN UNDER |url=https://thesydneyinstitute.com.au/blog/g-k-chesterton-hilaire-belloc-and-distributism-down-under/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=The Sydney Institute |date=30 August 2017 |language=en-AU}}</ref>

== 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 his 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=G.K. Chesterton's Distributism |url=https://distributistreview.com/archive/g-k-chestertons-distributism |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=The Distributist Review |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Subsidiarity ===
{{main|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".<ref name="uywdmd">Pope Pius XI, ''[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19310515_quadragesimo-anno_en.html Quadragesimo anno]'', 1931.</ref>

=== Social security ===
The [[Democratic Labour Party (Australia, 1980)|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 "[r]aise the level of student income support payments to the Henderson poverty line".<ref>{{cite web |last=Cath |date=11 September 2015 |title=Policy: Students |url=https://dlp.org.au/policy-students/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224023716/https://dlp.org.au/policy-students/ |archive-date=2019-02-24 |access-date=23 February 2019 |publisher=Democratic Labour Party}}</ref>

The [[American Solidarity Party]] 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://solidarity-party.org/about-us/platform/|title=Solidarity Party Platform|publisher=American Solidarity Party|access-date=1 January 2020|archive-date=10 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610024059/https://solidarity-party.org/about-us/platform/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Triangle of economic systems.png|thumb|250px|Distributism's relation to [[socialism]] and [[capitalism]]]]
[[File:William Cobbett.JPG|250px|thumb|[[William Cobbett]]'s social views influenced [[G. K. Chesterton]].]]

The position of distributists, when compared to other political philosophies, is somewhat paradoxical and complicated (see [[Triangulation (politics)|triangulation]]). Firmly entrenched in an [[Organic (model)|organic]] but very [[Catholic Church in England and Wales|English Catholicism]], advocating culturally traditional and [[Agrarianism|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".<ref name="orthodoxy">{{cite book | last=Chesterton | first=G. K. | title=Orthodoxy | publisher=BiblioBazaar | year=2008 | page=49 | isbn=978-0-554-33475-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Wl2QyGUL0EC&pg=PA49 }}</ref>

Distributism does not favour one political order over another (political accidentalism). While some distributists such as [[Dorothy Day]] have been [[Anarchism|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.<ref>G. K. Chesterton, [https://archive.org/details/theoutlineofsanity ''The Outline of Sanity''](Norfolk, Va.: IHS Press, 2001), p. 90</ref>

In the United States, the [[American Solidarity Party]] generally adheres to Distributist principles as its economic model. [[Ross Douthat]] and [[Reihan Salam]] view their ''Grand New Party'', a roadmap for revising the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party in the United States]], as "a book written in the distributist tradition".<ref>{{cite web |author=Ross Douthat |url=https://twitter.com/DouthatNYT/statuses/317053001070161920 |title=Twitter post |date=27 March 2013}}</ref>

The Brazilian political party, [[Humanist Party of Solidarity]], was a distributist party, alongside the [[National Distributist Party]] in England,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PPm12944|title=View registration – The Electoral Commission|website=search.electoralcommission.org.uk}}</ref> and the [[Democratic Labour Party (Australia, 1980)|Democratic Labour Party]] in Australia.

In the first round of the [[2024 Romanian presidential election]], candidate [[Călin Georgescu]], a independent candidate who advocates for a system based on distributism and [[sovereigntism]] received 23% of votes and qualified for the second round.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/calin-georgescu-si-elena-lasconi-in-turul-doi-al-alegerilor-prezidentiale-2024-5096303 | title=Călin Georgescu și Elena Lasconi, în turul doi al alegerilor prezidenţiale 2024 | date=25 November 2024 }}</ref>

== Influence ==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2023}}
{{Toryism |expanded=related}}

=== E. F. Schumacher ===
Distributism is known to have influenced the economist [[E. F. Schumacher]],<ref>Opdebeeck, Hendrik, ed. Frontiers of Business Ethics, Volume 11 : Responsible Economics : E. F. Schumacher and His Legacy for the 21st Century. Oxford, GBR: Peter Lang AG, 2013. p. 12.</ref> a convert to Catholicism.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=Leigh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OSOCgAAQBAJ&dq=Distributism+%22Toryism%22&pg=PT226 |title=Austerity Ecology & the Collapse-Porn Addicts: A Defence Of Growth, Progress, Industry And Stuff |date=2015-10-30 |publisher=John Hunt Publishing |isbn=978-1-78279-961-0 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Mondragon Corporation ===
The [[Mondragon Corporation]], based in the [[Basque Country (historical territory)|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 teaching|Catholic social and economic teachings]] that inspired Belloc, Chesterton, Father [[Vincent McNabb]], and the other founders of distributism.<ref>Mathews, Race. ''Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stakeholder Society.'' Fernwood Publishing. 1999.</ref>

=== 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]], 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]] was the flagship policy idea of the 2010 [[List of UK Conservative Party general election manifestos|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.<ref name=DR21Jul>[http://distributistreview.com/mag/2010/07/a-potential-step-in-the-right-direction/ A Potential Step in the Right Direction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021041503/http://distributistreview.com/mag/2010/07/a-potential-step-in-the-right-direction/ |date=21 October 2014 }} 21 July 2010</ref> It purportedly formed a part of the legislative programme of the [[Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement]].<ref name = BBC18May>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8688860.stm Cameron and Clegg set out 'big society' policy ideas] [[BBC]] News 18-May-2010</ref>

== List of distributist parties ==

=== Current ===

* Australia – [[Democratic Labour Party (Australia, 1980)|Democratic Labour Party]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Distributism |url=https://dlp.org.au/about/distributism/ |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=Democratic Labour Party |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Romania – [[Pirate Party Romania]]
* United States – [[American Solidarity Party]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Platform |url=https://www.solidarity-party.org/platform |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=American Solidarity Party |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Mexico - [[Nationalist Front of Mexico]]

=== Historical ===
* United Kingdom – [[Distributist League]] (1926–1940), [[Third Way (UK organisation)|Third Way]] (1990–2006)
* Brazil – [[Humanist Party of Solidarity]] (1995–2019)

== Notable distributists ==
=== Historical ===
{{cols|colwidth=16em}}
* [[Herbert Agar]]
* [[Hilaire Belloc]]
<!--* Harold Robbins<ref>[http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/articles/175.pdf "Distributism Versus Capitalism"], Dorothy Day, ''The Catholic Worker'', October 1954.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterton.org/shop/last-of-the-realists/|title=Last of the Realists – American Chesterton Society|website=American Chesterton Society|access-date=8 August 2017}}</ref>-->
* [[L. Brent Bozell Jr.]]
* [[Charles Coughlin]]
* [[Cecil Chesterton]]
* [[G. K. Chesterton]]
* [[Seward Collins]]
* [[Gustavo Corção]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Corção |first=Gustavo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ji4uAAAAIAAJ |title=Três alqueires e uma vaca: Capa com desenho de G. K. Chesterton |date=1946 |publisher=Livraria AGIR |language=pt-BR}}</ref> 
* [[Dorothy Day]]<ref>[http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/daytext.cfm?TextID=160 "Articles on Distributism – 2"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726104029/http://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/daytext.cfm?TextID=160 |date=26 July 2011 }} by Dorothy Day. ''The Catholic Worker'', July–August 1948, 1, 2, 6</ref>
* [[Adam Doboszyński]]
* [[Horacio de la Costa]]
* [[J. P. de Fonseka]]
* [[Eric Gill]]
* [[Douglas Hyde (author)|Douglas Hyde]]
* [[Saunders Lewis]]
* [[Peter Maurin]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9y42CwAAQBAJ&dq=peter+maurin+distributism&pg=PT70 "Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, & Distributism"], in ''The Hound of Distributism''.</ref>
* [[Vincent McNabb]]
* [[Arthur Penty]]
* [[Hilary Pepler]]
* [[Óscar Romero]]
* [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]
* [[William Purcell Witcutt]]
{{colend}}

=== Contemporary ===
{{cols|colwidth=21em}}
* [[Dale Ahlquist]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://distributistreview.com/mag/author/dale-ahlquist/ |title=The Distributist Review – Dale Ahlquist |publisher=Distributistreview.com |access-date=2014-06-05 |archive-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606225948/http://distributistreview.com/mag/author/dale-ahlquist/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Albert Bikaj<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bikaj |first1=Albert |title=Not Everything is for Sale: A Critique of Neoliberalism |url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/essay/not-everything-is-for-sale-a-critique-of-neoliberalism/ |website=The European Conservative |date=19 February 2022 |access-date=5 May 2024}}</ref>
* [[Phillip Blond]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Allan Carlson |url=http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/a-distributist-view-of-the-global-economic-crisis-a-report/ |title="A Distributist View of the Global Economic Crisis": A Report |publisher=Front Porch Republic |date=2009-07-12 |access-date=2014-06-05}}</ref>
* [[Allan C. Carlson]]
* David W. Cooney<ref>{{cite web |url=https://practicaldistributism.com/about/ |website=Practical distributism |access-date=5 May 2024 |title=About |date=2 February 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Charles A. Coulombe]]
*  Sean Domencic<ref>{{cite web|title=What is Integralism?|date=9 September 2020 |url=https://tradistae.com/2020/09/09/define-integralism}}</ref>
* [[Călin Georgescu]]<ref>[https://hotnews.ro/programul-economic-al-lui-calin-georgescu-castigatorul-primului-tur-al-alegerilor-prezidentiale-prin-acest-program-se-ridica-steagul-adevarului-al-iubirii-al-trezirii-constiintei-binelui-si-frumos-1844810 Programul economic al lui Călin Georgescu, câștigătorul primului tur al alegerilor prezidențiale: Prin acest program se ridică Steagul Adevărului, al Iubirii, al Trezirii conștiinței Binelui și frumosului în noi toți!], hotnews.ro, 25 November 2024</ref>
* [[Bill Kauffman]]
* [[Race Mathews]]
* John C. Médaille
* [[John Papworth]]
* [[Joseph Pearce]]
* {{ill|Juan Manuel de Prada|es||fr||it||pt}}<ref name="alfayomega.es 2013">{{cite web |title=Alfa y Omega, nº 775 / 1-III-2012, En portada |website=alfayomega.es |date=2013-05-27 |url=http://www.alfayomega.es/Revista/2012/775/01_enportada4.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527123419/http://www.alfayomega.es/Revista/2012/775/01_enportada4.php |archive-date=2013-05-27 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Douglas Rushkoff]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Mark Stahlman |url=https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Rocking-the-Bus |title=Rocking the Bus |publisher=Strategy+Business |access-date=2018-07-29}}</ref>
* [[John Sharpe (publisher)|John Sharpe]]
* [[Richard Williamson (bishop)|Richard Williamson]]<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DHglCQAAQBAJ&dq=t&pg=PT3| title = he+rural+solution+williamson "The Rural Solution: Modern Catholic Voices on Going 'Back to the Land'"| isbn = 9781605700212| last1 = Richard Williamson| first1 = Mgr| last2 = Peter Chojnowski| first2 = Dr| last3 = McCann| first3 = Christopher| date = April 2004| publisher = IHS Press}}</ref>
{{colend}}

== Key texts ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090720021418/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum_en.html Rerum novarum (1891)], papal encyclical by Pope Leo XIII.
* [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19310515_quadragesimo-anno_en.html Quadragesimo anno (1931)], papal encyclical by Pope Pius XI.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060114204743/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus_en.html Centesimus Annus (1991)], papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II.
* [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html Evangelii gaudium (2013)], apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis.
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1717 ''What's Wrong with the World'' (1910)] by G. K. Chesterton {{ISBN|0-89870-489-8}} – [http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/ eText].
* [https://archive.org/details/theoutlineofsanity ''The Outline of Sanity'' (1927)] by G. K. Chesterton.
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2134 ''Utopia of Usurers'' (1917)] by G. K. Chesterton.
* [https://archive.org/details/servilestate00belliala ''The Servile State'' (1912)] by Hilaire Belloc.
* ''An Essay on The Restoration of Property'' (1936) by Hilaire Belloc {{ISBN|0-9714894-4-0}}.
* ''Jobs of Our Own'' (1999) by [[Race Mathews]] {{ISBN|978-1871204179}}.

== See also ==

; Related concepts

* {{Annotated link |Agrarianism}}
* {{Annotated link |Bioregionalism}}
* {{Annotated link |Catholic social teaching}}
* {{Annotated link |Distributed economy}}
* {{Annotated link |Distributive justice}}
* {{Annotated link |Localism (politics)}}
* {{Annotated link |Market socialism}}
* {{Annotated link |Mutual aid (organization theory)}}
* {{Annotated link |Predistribution}}
* {{Annotated link |Subsidiarity}}

; Similar positions

* {{Annotated link |Anarcho-syndicalism}}
* {{Annotated link |Jeffersonian democracy}}
* {{Annotated link |Christian democracy}}
* {{Annotated link |Gandhian economics}}
* {{Annotated link |Georgism}}
* {{Annotated link |Guild socialism}}
* {{Annotated link |Mutualism (economic theory)}}
* {{Annotated link |Non-conformists of the 1930s}}
* {{Annotated link |Ownership society}}
* {{Annotated link |Property-owning democracy}}
* {{Annotated link |Social Credit}}
* {{Annotated link |Traditionalist conservatism}}
* {{Annotated link |Ujamaa}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Boyle, David. [https://www.therealpress.co.uk/product/back-to-the-land-print/''Back to the Land: Distributism and the politics of life''] Steyning: The Real Press, 2019. {{ISBN|978-1912119899}}
* Cooney, Anthony. ''Distributism''. {{ISBN|0-9535077-2-6}}
* Kurland, Norman. [http://www.cesj.org/resources/articles-index/the-just-third-way-basic-principles-of-economic-and-social-justice-by-norman-g-kurland/ ''The Just Third Way: Basic Principles of Economic and Social Justice''], Center for Economic and Social Justice
* Sagar, S. ''Distributism''. {{ISBN|0-905109-20-1}}
* Saltter, Alexander William. ''The Political Economy of Distributism: Property, Liberty, and the Common Good.'' Washington, DC. [[Catholic University of America Press]], 2023.
* ''[http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/debate.txt Shaw v Chesterton: a Debate between George Bernard Shaw and G. K. Chesterton]''. {{ISBN|0-9679707-7-6}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110411052804/http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/deliberative-topics/religion-morality-in-public-life/dorothy-day-union-square-speech-6-november-1965/ "Union Square Speech"] by [[Dorothy Day]]
* ''[http://www.hsnsw.asn.au/Distributism.html Distributism as a means of achieving third way economics]'', a paper for the [[Secular Party of Australia]] written by Richard Howard of the [[Humanist Society of New South Wales]]
* Pabst, Adrian. [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/jul/20/pope-benedict-capitalism-economics "Pope Benedict's call for a civil economy"]. ''The Guardian'', 20 July 2009.

== External links ==
* [http://distributistreview.com/ The Distributist Review]

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