The Gauntlet: A Challenge to the Myth of Progress

by Arthur Penty, Peter Chojnowski (Preface)

Subtitled "A Challenge to the Myth of Progress," this collection includes selections from Old Worlds for New , Post-Industrialism , Towards a Christian Sociology , and Means and Ends . This first-ever anthology of Penty's works presents a compelling vision both of what's wrong with the world and of what kind of socio-economic order would help to make it right. The writings in this volume provide a sampling of Penty's thorough and persuasive critique of the myths that dominate modern economic and social thought. They also outline his intellectual and practical program for the restoration of such essentials in economic life as the dignity of labor, justice in pricing, equity in property distribution, quality in craftsmanship, preservation of rural culture, and, above all, the recognition of spiritual truth as the foundation of all real economic order.

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Donald Linnemeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first distributist book I read. Some very interesting perspectives in here, but the book ultimately is just too removed and abstract. Aside from a quick glimmer of detail when Penty critiques the idea that large businesses are actually more efficient, he by and large stays in the idealogical realm.

From what I keep hearing, this is a pretty constant problem with distributists, and one I'm hoping someone solves or has solved in some other books I haven't dug up yet. It's disappointing, too, because distributism has a lot of potential as an idealogical third way.