Distributism Basics: An Explanation

by David W. Cooney

An introduction to the economic system known as Distributism, comparing it to both socialism and capitalism. Distributism does not advocate government "redistribution" of wealth, which many assume based on the name alone. The name refers to the idea that justice and power in both the economic and political realms should be distributed throughout society. Distributism, also known as Distributivism, has been around as a named and distinct system for over 100 years, but remains relatively unknown because it is ignored by professional and academic economists. The basic premise is that people in society as a whole are better off if the means of production are privately owned by a lot of people rather than having the majority of that ownership in the hands of a small percentage of society. Locally owned small businesses and farms are the bedrock of a strong and stable economy. Distributism also advocates strong local government over the centralization of government authority.

Genres: Economics

36 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2016

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good summary of Distributism (popularized by G.K. Chesterton). The writing style was good but not excellent and I realized early on that the book is a collection of blog posts from the author’s blog rather than a cohesive narrative as most non-fiction books are. At 31 pages, it’s also much shorter than I expected. Despite these limitations, I still recommend this work as a quick introduction of Distributism, a “third-way” separate from (and arguably better than) capitalism and socialism.

[Chris Comis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly the same approach to "Distributist" Economics that Chesterton and Belloc put out, but still a decent introduction to an approach to decentralized co-op economics that is neither socialist nor crony capitalist. Interesting stuff, but not sure how applicable this approach is to real life.

[Cecil New · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy and clear read about distributism and how it different from socialism and capitalism

[Todd Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing

This volume gives a succinct and comprehensible view of an economic model that the world really needs. I recommend this work to serious thinkers everywhere.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief and excellent introduction to distributism. The author refutes common misconceptions and offers proper explanations of what distributism is.