[RC] Distributionism

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Distributism
 
>From Wikipedia


 
 
 
 
Distributism (also known as distributionism_[1]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-1)
  or  
distributivism_[2]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-2)
 ) is an _economic ideology_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_ideology)   that developed in Europe in 
the late 19th and early 20th 
century based upon the  principles of _Catholic social  teaching_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_social_teaching) , especially the 
teachings of 
_Pope Leo XIII_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIII)  in his 
_encyclical_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclical)   _Rerum novarum_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rerum_novarum)  and _Pope Pius  XI_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XI)  in _Quadragesimo  anno_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadragesimo_anno) ._[3]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-3)
  
In the early 21st century, some observers have speculated about _Pope  
Francis_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis) 's exact position on 
distributism _[4]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-4)
 _[5]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-5)
 _[6]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-6)
 _[7]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-7)
 _[8]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-8)
 _[9]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-9)
 _[10]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-10)
  because of his  denouncement of unfettered 
capitalism as tyranny in his 84-page apostolic  exhortation _Evangelii  
gaudium_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelii_gaudium) : 
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.

 
Overview
According to distributists, _property_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_property)  ownership is  a fundamental 
right,_[11]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-11)
  and the 
_means of production_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Means_of_production)   
should be spread as widely as possible, rather than being centralized under the 
 control of the state (_state socialism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_socialism) ), a few  individuals 
(_plutocracy_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy) ), or corporations  
(_corporatocracy_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatocracy) ).  Distributism, therefore, 
advocates a society 
marked by widespread property  ownership._[12]_ (htt
ps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-12)
  _Co-operative_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-operatives)  economist _Race  Mathews_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Mathews)  argues that such a system is key 
to 
bringing about a just _social  order_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_order) ._[13]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-13)
  
Distributism has often been described in opposition to both _socialism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism)  and  _capitalism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism) ,_[14]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-14)
 _[15]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-15)
  which 
distributists see  as equally flawed and exploitive._[16]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-Prentiss.2C_Craig_R._200
8_p._77-16)  Thomas Storck argues:  "both socialism and capitalism are 
products of the _European  Enlightenment_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment)  and are thus modernizing 
and anti-traditional forces. 
Further,  some distributists argue that socialism is the logical conclusion of 
capitalism  as capitalism's concentrated powers eventually capture the state, 
resulting in a  form of socialism._[17]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-17)
 _[18]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-18)
  In 
contrast, distributism  seeks to subordinate economic activity to human life as 
a 
whole, to our  spiritual life, our intellectual life, our family life"._[19]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_
note-19)  
Some have seen it more as an aspiration, which has been successfully 
realised  in the short term by commitment to the principles of _subsidiarity_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity)  and _solidarity_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_solidarity)  (these  being built into 
financially 
independent local _cooperatives_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative)  
and 
small _family businesses_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_business) 
),  though proponents also cite such periods as the _Middle Ages_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages)  as examples of  the historical 
long-term 
viability of distributism._[20]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-20)
  Particularly influential  in the 
development of distributist theory were _Catholic_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church)  authors _G. K. Chesterton_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton)  and  _Hilaire Belloc_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaire_Belloc) ,_[16]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-Prentiss.2C_Craig_R._2008_p._77-16)
  the 
_Chesterbelloc_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.K._Chesterton#The_Chesterbelloc) 
,  two of distributism's earliest and strongest proponents._[21]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-21)
 
_[22]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-Riff.2C_Michael_A._1990_p._35-22)
  
Background
The mid-to-late 19th century witnessed the growth of _political  
Catholicism_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Catholicism)  across 
_Europe_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) ._[23]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-23)
  According to 
historian  Michael A. Riff, a common feature of these movements was opposition 
not 
only to  _secularism_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism) , but also 
to both  capitalism and socialism._[22]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-Riff.2C_Michael_A._1990_p._35-22
)  In 1891 _Pope  Leo XIII_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_XIII)  
promulgated _Rerum novarum_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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."._[24]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-24)
  
Affirmed in the  encyclical was the right of all men to own property,_[25]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-
25)  the necessity of a system  that allowed "as many as possible of the 
people to become owners",_[26]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-Leo_XIII.2C_Rerum_novarum.2C_49-26)
  the 
duty of employers to  provide safe _working  conditions_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_conditions) _[27]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-27)
  and sufficient wages,_[28]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_
note-28)  and the right of workers  to _unionise_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union) ._[26]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-Leo_XIII.2C_Rerum_novarum.2C_49-26)
  
_Common_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ownership)  and _government_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_ownership)   property ownership was 
expressly dismissed as a means of helping the poor._[29]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-29)
 _[30]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-30)
  
Around the start of the 20th century, _G. K. Chesterton_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton)  and  _Hilaire Belloc_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaire_Belloc)  drew  together the disparate 
experiences of the 
various cooperatives and _friendly societies_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_society)  in  Northern England, 
Ireland, and Northern Europe into a 
coherent political  ideology 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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_American_Review_(literary_journal)) , 
published and edited by _Seward Collins_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seward_Collins) . Pivotal  among Belloc's and 
Chesterton's other works regarding distributism include _The Servile  State_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Servile_State) ,_[31]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-31)
  and 
Outline of  Sanity._[32]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-32)
  
Although a majority of distributism's later supporters were not Catholics 
and  many were in fact former _radical_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalism_(historical))   socialists who had 
become disillusioned with socialism, 
distributist thought was  adopted by the _Catholic Worker  Movement_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Worker_Movement) , conjoining it with 
the 
thought of _Dorothy Day_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Day)  and 
_Peter  Maurin_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Maurin)  concerning 
localized and independent communities. It also influenced  the thought behind 
the 
_Antigonish  Movement_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigonish_Movement) 
, which implemented cooperatives and other measures to aid the poor  in the 
Canadian _Maritimes_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritimes) . Its 
practical  implementation in the form of local cooperatives has recently been 
documented by  _Race  Mathews_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Mathews)  in 
his 1999 book Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stakeholder  Society. 
Position  within the political spectrum

 
 
The position of distributists when compared to other political philosophies 
 is somewhat paradoxical and complicated (see _Triangulation_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation_(politics)) ).  Strongly 
entrenched in an 
_organic_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_(model))  but very _English  
Catholicism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_England_and_Wales) , 
advocating culturally traditionalist and _agrarian_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarianism)  values, directly  challenging the 
precepts of 
_Whig history_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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."_[33]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-orthodoxy-3
3)  This _liberalism_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism)  is 
different from  most modern forms, taking influence from _William Cobbett_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cobbett)  and _John  Ruskin_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruskin) , who combined elements of 
_radicalism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radicalism_(historical)) ,  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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution) . 
While converging with certain elements of traditional _Toryism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toryism) ,  especially an appreciation of the 
_Middle 
Ages_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages)  and organic  society, there 
were several points of significant contention. While many Tories  were 
strongly opposed to reform, the distributists in certain cases 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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism)  as a  concept and _schism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schism_(religion))  from the  Catholic Church in 
general, considering the division of 
_Christendom_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christendom)  in the 16th  century 
one of the most harmful events in European history. Elements of Toryism  on 
the other hand were quite intransigent when it came to the _Church of 
England_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England)  as  the established 
church, some even spurning their original _legitimist_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legitimists)  ultra-royalist  principles in 
regards to _James II_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_England)  to uphold  it. 
Much of _Dorothy L. Sayers_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_L._Sayers) '  writings on social and 
economic matters has affinity with 
distributism. She may  have been influenced by them, or have come to similar 
conclusions 
on her own; as  an _Anglican_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglicanism) , 
the reasonings  she gave are rooted in the theologies of _Creation_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_creation_narrative)  and  _Incarnation_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnation_(Christianity)) ,  and thus are 
slightly different from the Catholic Chesterton and Belloc. 
Some political parties that endorse distributism such as the _Democratic  
Labour Party (Australia)_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Labour_Party_(Australia))  would be 
considered to be economically _centre-left_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre-left) , suggesting  that distributism 
could 
be seen as _centre-left_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre-left)  by at 
least  some standards. 
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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_property)  of others to  do so. Examples 
of people earning a living in 
this way would be farmers who own  their own land and related machinery, 
plumbers who own their own tools, software  developers who own their own 
computer,_[34]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-34)
  etc. 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 themselves 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.” _[35]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-35)
  He 
states also that  owning property is not only beneficial for a person and their 
family, but is in  fact a right, due to God having “...given the earth for 
the use and enjoyment of  the whole human race”._[36]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-36)
  
Similar views are presented by G.K. Chesterton 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. As such, man  
therefore is entitled to own property and to treat it as he sees fit. He states 
 “
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.”_[37]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-37)
  Chesterton summed up his  
distributist views in the phrase "_Three acres and a  cow_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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."_[38]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_no
te-38)  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._[39]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-ineioq-39)
  Distributism allows for  society to have public 
goods such as parks and transit systems. 
Guild system
The kind of economic order envisaged by the early distributist thinkers 
would  involve the return to some sort of _guild_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild)  system. The present  existence of _labor 
unions_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union)  does not  constitute a realization 
of this facet 
of distributist economic order, as labour  unions are organized along 
_class_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class)  lines to promote  class 
interests and frequently _class struggle_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_struggle) , whereas  guilds are mixed 
class syndicates composed of both 
employers and employees  cooperating for mutual benefit, thereby promoting 
_class  collaboration_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_collaboration) . 
Banks
Distributism favors the dissolution of the current _private bank_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_bank)  system, or  more specifically its 
_profit_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profit_(economics)) -making basis  in 
charging interest. Dorothy Day, for example, suggested[_according  to whom?_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words) ] abolishing 
legal enforcement of  interest-rate contracts (_usury_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury) ). It would not entail _nationalization_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalization)  but  could involve government 
involvement of some 
sort. Distributists look favorably  on _credit unions_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_union)  as a  preferable alternative to 
banks. 
Anti-trust  legislation
Distributism appears to have one of its greatest influences in _anti-trust  
legislation_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-trust_legislation)  in 
America and Europe designed to break up monopolies and  excessive concentration 
of market power in one or only a few companies, _trusts_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(monopoly)) , interests, or  _cartels_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel) .  Embodying the philosophy explained by 
Chesterton, 
above, that too much  capitalism means too few capitalists, not too many, 
America's extensive system  of anti-trust 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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_law) . The  assumption behind this 
legislation is the 
idea that having economic activity  decentralized among many different 
industry participants is better for the  economy than having one or a few large 
players in an industry. (Note that  anti-trust 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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_monopoly)   like electricity 
distribution. It also accepts that 
mergers and acquisitions may  improve consumer welfare; however, it 
generally prefers more _economic agents_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_(economics))  to  fewer, as this generally 
improves _competition_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_(economics)) .) 
_Social credit_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_credit) 
Social credit is an interdisciplinary distributive philosophy developed by 
_C. H.  Douglas_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._H._Douglas)  (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. 
Social theory
Human family
Distributism sees the family of two parents and their child or children as  
the central and primary _social unit_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 focused 
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. 
Subsidiarity
Main article: _Subsidiarity_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 which can be performed by a smaller unit. _Pope 
Pius  XI_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XI) , in _Quadragesimo  
anno_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadragesimo_anno) , 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."_[40]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-
uywdmd-40)  Thus, any activity of  production (which distributism holds to 
be the most important 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. 
_Pope Pius XI_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XI)  further  
stated, again in _Quadragesimo  anno_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadragesimo_anno) , "every social activity 
ought of its very nature to furnish help to  
the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them."_[39]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_no
te-ineioq-39)  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. 
The essence of subsidiarity is concisely inherent in the Christian maxim  
'Give someone a fish and you feed him for a day; teach the person to fish and 
 you feed him for a lifetime'.[_original  research?_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research) ] 
Social security
Distributism favors the elimination of _social security_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_security)  on the  basis that it further 
alienates man 
by making him more dependent on the _Servile State_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Servile_State) .  Distributists such as 
_Dorothy Day_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaire_Belloc)  over  American Distributists. 
Society of  artisans
Distributism promotes a society of _artisans_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artisan)  and culture. This is  influenced by an 
emphasis on small 
business, promotion of local culture, and  favoring of small production over 
capitalistic _mass production_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_alienation)  of man  
from work. 
This does not, however, suggest that distributism necessarily favors a  
technological regression to a pre-_Industrial  Revolution_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution)  lifestyle, but a more 
local ownership of 
factories and other  industrial centers. Products such as food and clothing 
would be preferably  returned to local producers and artisans instead of 
being mass-produced  overseas. 
Geopolitical  theory
Political order
Distributism does not favor one political order over another (_political  
accidentalism_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Political_accidentalism&action=edit&redlink=1)
 ). While some distributists, such as Dorothy 
Day, have been _anarchists_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism) ,  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 in 
a political  system broadly characterized by widespread ownership of 
productive property._[41]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-41)
  
Political parties
The Brazilian political party, _Humanist Party  of Solidarity_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanist_Party_of_Solidarity)  is a distributist 
party, 
and distributism has influenced _Christian  Democratic parties_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_democratic_parties)  in 
Continental 
Europe and the _Democratic  Labor Party_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Labour_Party_(Australia))  in 
Australia. _Ross Douthat_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Douthat)  and _Reihan  Salam_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reihan_Salam)  view their Grand New Party, a 
roadmap for revising the 
_Republican  Party in the United States_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)) , as "a book 
written in the distributist  
tradition."_[42]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-42)
  
War
Distributists usually use _Just War Theory_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War) , but  supported British 
involvement in _World War I_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I) . 
On the other hand, prominent distributists such as Dorothy Day and those  
involved in the Catholic Worker movement were/are strict _pacifists_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacifism)  even to the point of  condemning 
involvement in the Second World War at much personal cost. 
Influence
E. F. Schumacher
Distributism is known to have had an influence on the economist _E. F. 
Schumacher_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Schumacher) , a  convert to 
Catholicism. 
Mondragon  Corporation
The _Mondragon  Corporation_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation) , based in the _Basque  
Country_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_(historical_territory))  in a 
region of Spain and France, was 
founded by a Catholic priest,  Father _José  María Arizmendiarrieta_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.[_citation  needed_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed) 
][_original  research?_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research) ] 
The Guild  of St Joseph and St Dominic
Distributist ideas were put into practice by _The  Guild of St Joseph and 
St Dominic_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guild_of_St_Joseph_and_St_Dominic) , a group 
of artists and craftsmen who  established a community in 
_Ditchling_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_and_Crafts_Movement) ; it survived almost 
70 years, until 
1989. 
Big Society
The _Big Society_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Society)  was the  
flagship policy idea of the 2010 _UK  Conservative Party general election 
manifesto_ (https://en
.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_Conservative_Party_general_election_manifestos) 
. Some distributists claim that  the rhetorical 
marketing of this policy was influenced by aphorisms of the  distributist 
ideology 
and promotes distributism._[43]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-DR21Jul-43)
  It purportedly formed a  
part of the legislative programme of the _Conservative  – Liberal Democrat 
Coalition Agreement_ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_–
_Liberal_Democrat_Coalition_Agreement) ._[44]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-BBC18May-44)
  The stated aim is "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'"._[45]_ 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Distributism&printable=yes#cite_note-PM18May-45)
  There is considerable  debate as to whether this 
vision is borne out by government policies that  allegedly have tended to 
support growing inequality and an economy increasingly  dependent on an 
affluent "financial class" whose interests are entirely based on  a globalized 
form of market capitalism.

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