Articles by David W. Cooney
The issue of the homeless in society is starting to get more attention in the news in the United States. Unfortunately, I suspect that this is only because of the upcoming presidential election. It would be unfair to say that this issue gets no attention at other times, but it does seem to me that … More The Homeless
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 … More What They All Get Wrong About Tariffs
If you listen to the apologists of capitalism, there is one thing they consistently argue for when they rail against things like socialism or even distributism; the Free Market. They say that they believe that the Market should determine what products and services succeed and fail without artificial support or suppression from the government. Customers … More Capitalists Against the Free Market
The Church has always concerned itself with issues of justice in society, and popes have taught extensively on the topic since the late 1800s. Unfortunately, many Catholics in our day are not aware of this teaching, or only consider it in regard to things like helping the poor. Helping the poor is a very important … More An Economics of Justice & Charity
“The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1806 Those of us who promote distributism would … More Being Practical About Distributism
Distributists desire the proliferation of small independently owned businesses. We also desire that larger businesses be cooperatively owned by those who do the work. While there will still be some form of employment even under a distributist system, people are more economically free when they own the means of their own living. Even employees would … More Taking that First Step: an interview with Samantha Larson
Practical Distributism 