Distributism Basics: The Nature and Roles of Government

"A community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view of the common good."

- Pope John Paul II

Distributism Basics: The Science of Economics

There seems to be a theory, popular among the critics of distributism, that distributists either don't understand the science of economics, or that we don't believe economics is a science. To listen to them, we don't accept the laws of supply and demand, scarcity, the theory of diminishing returns, or the many other aspects of the science of economics. This, of course, is nonsense.

Distributism Basics: Distributism vs. Capitalism

"Distributism is just like capitalism, except that we differ on the nature of man, the purpose of economic activity, usury, the maximization of token wealth, the role and legitimate exercise of the state, empirical economics, the meaning of subsidiarity, subordination of economics to the higher sciences, our ends, our means, what money is, what wealth is, what a free market is, production and consumption, regulation, free trade,
the moral and divine law in the social and economic order,
and, yes, what liberty means."

- Richard Aleman

Distributism Basics: Distributism vs. Socialism

In the late 19^th and early 20^th Centuries, three alternatives were proposed to alleviate the conditions of the working classes under capitalism: distributism, Keynesian capitalism, and socialism. Distributists are sometimes accused of being socialists, or at least quasi-socialists. This article will examine the nature of socialism and how it is completely incompatible with distributism.

Distributism Basics: A Brief Introduction

For those people who have just heard about distributism, whether they are just curious, or doubtful, I would like to present a few articles that run through the basics in simple terms. I'd like to be able to answer some of the claims presented by our detractors, but those answers must be understood by what distributism actually is, rather than what our detractors claim it to be.

Guilds and Distributism

Here is an interesting discussion about Guilds and Distributism