by David W. Cooney The answer to this question is important for determining if there are any limits to the authority of government and, if so, what those limits are. It will help us to understand when those who wield the power of government have gone too far in the exercise of that power. It … More Whence Comes Government Authority?
by David W. Cooney There are two social foundations of distributism; decentralized political authority according to the principles of subsidiarity, and the wide-spread private ownership of productive property. When established, these foundations will result in greater freedom for individuals and families throughout society in general and a more stable national economy supported by strong local … More Achieving Distributism – Part III
by David W. Cooney Asserting the right to own private property is not the same as asserting the right to acquire unlimited amounts of it, nor is it the same as saying there are no other limitations in regard to that acquisition. This is one point where capitalists will raise a huge objection. We must … More Achieving Distributism – Part II
One response to my Distributism Basics article on the Science of Economics was the assertion that economics can be studied apart from ethics. According to critics of the article, I was incorrectly attempting to join two topics that don’t necessarily go together. These critics at least seemed to agree that ethics did apply to economic … More The Laws of Economics
With its emphasis on local economy, local markets, local farms, local government and, maybe most of all, guilds, would it be fair to say that distributists are longing for a return to the way things were in the medieval era? Are distributists merely a group of anachronistic dreamers with romantic views of medieval life, not … More Distributism and Medieval Romanticism
Given distributism’s insistence that government cannot interfere in the internal life of the family, and that higher levels of government cannot interfere in things that are properly the role of lower levels of government, and that things like charity are properly the role of family, church, and local organizations, can we say that distributists are … More Distributism and Anarchy
Practical Distributism 