Distributism and "Preppers"

Distributists emphasize personal and local economic independence as the foundation of personal, political, and economic freedom. For nearly one hundred years, we have been saying that society overall needs to move away from our dependence, not only dependence on big government, but also on big business. As long as we continue to accept these things, we will be in a state of dependence, which means that we will not truly be free. So, what does this have to do with the so-called “prepper” movement that has gained popularity in the last two years? 

The Breakdown of the Supply Chain

Not long ago, a cargo ship blocked a canal, causing international shipping to get backed up and a consequent shortage of supplies in many countries. As I write this, many cargo ships are gathered in the Pacific Ocean, waiting to get into the harbors for Los Angeles and Long Beach California. Apparently, there is a shortage of long distance truckers to take away the cargo already unloaded, which needs to be done to make room for the cargo on the ships that are waiting. There has been a lot of talk about the breakdown of the supply chain, but have these discussions actually addressed the real problem?

Distributism Basics: Foundational Principles

I am happy to announce the publication of my new book, Distributism Basics: Foundational Principles. This is an exploration of some of the core principles underlying the distributist idea. 

Reflections on the Quarantine

People all around the world have been in a quarantine lock down due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak for about a month. In some areas, families can go for walks, while in other areas people are only allowed to go outside for things like getting food. This crisis imposed isolation, called "social distancing," is raising certain questions about how our society is structured and what we value.

The Cost of Comparative Advantage

The advocates of Free Trade deals between countries frequently cite the fact that more products are made available at a lower cost to consumers as proof that their idea makes economic sense. Their explanation of how this works rests on the idea of Comparative Advantage,[1] the idea that one country can produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than other countries. Based on this idea, if the industries in one country focus on those products where they have the lowest opportunity cost, and import products where they don't, this provides an abundance of lower priced goods for everyone. For the advocates of Free Trade, price [2] appears to be the ultimate test of what is economically good. They scoff at opponents and critics of Free Trade as if their criticisms of it are completely without merit. Even some economists who have dared to question Free Trade, still try to uphold Comparative Advantage as a reasonable idea.[3] The reality is that the Free Trade ideology ultimately rests on Comparative Advantage. Therefore, it is prudent to examine the criticisms of it to see if they do, in fact, merit consideration. I believe that history has proven that they do.

Three Questions on Distributism

by Joseph L. Grabowski

Practical Distributism would like to thank Joseph L. Grabowski for permission to republish the following article. It was originally published on his own blog, which can be found here.

What is an embedded economy?

by Thomas Storck

Probably nearly everyone would assent to the statement that the economy is meant to serve society, not the other way around. But despite the verbal acquiescence that would most likely be given to this statement, it is my contention that in fact for capitalist modernity most often the very opposite is true: society in fact serves the economy. As it has been expressed, "society itself becomes an `adjunct' of the market."[i] This claim applies most fully to the United States, the place where capitalism has been able to develop most freely and completely, where there are the fewest legal or cultural restraints on the operation of capitalism, and where capitalist ideals and motivations are most taken for granted and lauded.

What They All Get Wrong About Tariffs

When President Trump chose to impose tariffs on China, there were various reactions. Some economic schools praised him because they believe tariffs will improve the American job market in those industries currently heavily outsourced to Chinese labor. Free market libertarians, typically representing the Austrian school of economics, berated him because they believe tariffs are terrible and hurt the American economy. However, Trump said he was doing this as an economic sanction because China was stealing US intellectual property.

Another Look at Mondragón

From time to time, some of our readers have suggested that we should not use the Spanish cooperative corporation, Mondragón, as an example of distributist principles in action. The main point of this suggestion is that Mondragón has grown too big to truly be an example of distributism in the world today. I have always agreed with this point, and have responded that it would not be so big in a truly distributist society. However, because of the principles that guide their business operations, I have always felt that it does serve as an example of how distributism can work with larger scale industrial types of businesses. With the news of Mondragón's largest cooperative, Fagor, filing for bankruptcy, it is time to discuss a harsh reality with our readers.

A Problem With Over-Centralizing Production

This article was originally published by

The Distributist Review on 20 August, 2010

We distributists advocate the decentralization of production whenever practical. We are challenged by claims that centralization is more efficient in terms of cost. “What’s wrong with Big Business” is a question we need to answer. The founders of Distributism focused on the idea that, when the overwhelming majority of citizens work for a wage at jobs controlled by relatively few wealthy individuals, their situation is a form of slavery. It may not be as bad as the slavery of the 19th century but, in many ways, the house slaves of that era didn’t have it as bad as the slaves of the field.

Distributism and the Possibility of State-wide Cooperative Ownership of Certain Production.

Are there some areas of production where collective ownership is compatible with Distributism? In The Servile State, Hilaire Belloc proposes that the remedy to the problems of the inequities of Capitalism are either to move ownership from the few to the many (toward Distributism), or from the few to none (toward Collectivism which is essentially Socialism). If toward Distributism, the process will be slower and more painful because it will involve the decentralization of the property into the hands of many small owners. The process toward Collectivism is easier because it is less disruptive to what already exists in Capitalism.