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
by Patrick Toner Hilaire Belloc’s Essay on the Restoration of Property is a remarkably well-written book. Put aside the question of whether Belloc is right or wrong about any of his contentions: the book is thoroughly lucid. It’s also organic—you really can’t dip into it at random, you need to get ahold of the ideas … More Self-sufficiency and economic freedom
by Patrick Toner The Distributist should garden as though it matters. Because it does. In an earlier piece I urged Distributists to grow crops that provide the greatest amount of nourishment. In this piece, I will urge Distributists to recognize the temporal element in gardening in addition to the spatial element. Suppose you are able … More The Distributist's Garden, Part 2
“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
Unfortunately, the circumstances of life prevented me from addressing Jack Quirk’s response to my previous article on this topic before now. Given the amount of time, I considered moving on to other topics, but there were several points he claimed that I think really need to be addressed. Therefore, with apologies to our readers, and … More Subsidiarity vs. Single Payer 2
By Patrick Toner It’s pretty standard (and rightly so) to link Distributism with things like farmer’s markets and small scale organic farming. If you’re a Distributist, you ought to opt out, as much as you can, from industrial agriculture. As much as you can, you ought to support small local family farmers.But beyond that, it’s … More The Distributist's Garden
Practical Distributism 