Frequently asked

questions
What is Distributism?
Distributism finds its roots in the social and economic theories articulated in the
documents of the Catholic pontiffs, beginning with Pope Leo XIIIs Rerum Novarum.
These social encyclicals raise imperatives on economic transaction and its relation to
labor, solidarity, wages, the wide diffusion of ownership, and the proper limits of
technology. Distributism is an economic system compliant with the principles of these
documents, and is centered on the widest possible ownership of property as the best
guarantee of political and economic freedom. A family that owns its own land or its own
tools can make its own way in the world without being dependent on someone else for
a job. Thus, Distributism seeks to extend property ownership to as many as possible,
and end the concentration of ownership by few capitalists or state officials.

What are the means of production?

The means of production are the land, tools, and equipment needed for labor to
transform raw materials into goods and services. As wealth (goods or services) is only
possible by the combination of the means of production, labor, and raw materials, we
believe it is best when these are owned cooperatively (worker-owned) or entirely
operated by the family.

Are you Capitalists or Socialists?

Neither. Capitalismor Proletarianismis a system bent on the maximization of returns
on investments, and seeks it at the expense of labor and the common good. Socialism
aims to eliminate ownership and place it in the hands of an impersonal, centralized
government. Both systemsCapitalism and Socialismlimit real ownership in practice.
The only difference between a Socialist state and a Capitalist state is whether power is

concentrated in a few private or a few bureaucratic hands.

So you dont support Big Government?

Distributists are decentralists who believe most organizational functions (whether
business, government, or labor) should occur at the smallest competent level as
possible (subsidiarity). Institutions like local guilds and governments exist to curb
large-scale control, whether bureaucratic or commercial.

Whats with all the talk about justice?

Since the time of Aristotle, philosophers and economists have deemed justice an
integral element of the marketplace; a factor to be considered before exchanges take
place. However, during the period of history known as the Enlightenment, a
misconception arose that social justice springs solely from market forces, or from
central planning by the government. In this case, man becomes a mere cog in an
economic machine; he is reduced to material insignificance with disregard for his fallen
nature or telos (purpose). Thus, while acknowledging mans dependency on material
goods, we recognize trade and social policy as subordinate to his virtuous vocation.

Wouldnt Distributism be less efficient, and

so make us all poorer?
Although Capitalism claims to be highly efficient, it doesnt work very well without
massive government expense and interventions. Distributists assert productive
property as a genuine generator of wealth, because it serves and sustains the family
materially (food, clothing, and shelter), and cultivates the soul through work. Moreover,
we emphasize that distributed property is actually more efficient and is less dependent
on huge government or corporate conglomerates. Property means liberty for the
household from the jaws of financial volatility, as from the perspective of the
household, land transcends market values due to its indispensability for the familys

stability.

What is your position regarding our present

economic crisis?
Stagnate wages, usury, speculation, derivatives, waste, and consumer debt, are but a
few of the problems which have transformed a land of small businesses and small
farmers, into a nation pitted between corporations handing off their liabilities to
taxpayers, and an obliging government looking the other way as jobs are shipped
overseas. With relatively few producers and more outsourced production, the familys
confidence in obtaining healthy food, fair wages, home ownership, healthcare, and
proper education for their children through the means of employment, has collapsed.

How does Distributism plan to help us

restore economic sanity?
We believe a renaissance of local economics will repair the damage wrought by
corporations that squeeze the government for greater subsidies from the public purse.
Distributism puts forward a humane economic and social policy invested in the needs
of the family through property ownership and measured technology. Our objectives
include the restoration of the guild system, family and worker-owned business
advocacy, micro-credit lending, Community Supported Agriculture, and associations
tasked with implementing vigorous husbandry programs. We support political initiatives
to favor differential taxation policies, legal assistance for the home-based business, as
well as the revision of current accounting and banking practices. We intend to achieve
our goals by forming a popular movement consisting of academics and laymen
working together to create regional chapters dedicated to the implementation of the
Distributist program.

Isnt this all very Utopian?

No, Distributism is a practical system, which is validated by the many examples of

functioning Distributist firms; on the small scale, there are thousands of home-based
and employee-owned companies, micro-lending banks, credit unions, and insurance
companies; on the large scale, there is the Mondragn Cooperative Corporation of
Spain, one of the most successful cooperatives in Europe, and the Distributist
economy of Emilia-Romagna (Bologna) in Italy, where over 45% of the GDP comes
from cooperatives, and which boasts a living standard twice the rest of Italy and
among the highest in Europe. Distributist economies and firms have a built-in
competitive advantage over their Capitalist and Socialist counterparts, as well as social
and community advantages that Capitalism and Socialism cannot begin to match.

Further Resources:
Catholic Social Teaching
Classic Reading List
Contemporary Reading List