Distributism is an economic and cultural ideology in which it is believed that private ownership should be widely distributed - hence the name - among the population according to the principle of subsidiarity. That in itself is not problematic for me, but when we get into the question of how we assess a just distribution, and the means by which we achieve it I do have reservations.

Furthermore, Distributists are generally ill at ease with modern culture. Again in this respect I probably share the same dislike of what they are unhappy about. However, their critique of the cause of the those problems and how we evangelize it (which is linked to their approach to economics as well) is, to my eyes flawed also. I feel that they romanticize the past falsely.

Fr Brad Elliot O.P. (who says he ‘used to be Distributist’) and myself (who never was) talk about the good and bad aspects of this ideology and how, ironically, the free economy is that which is most likely to achieve the ends that they seek.

Does Distributism romanticise the past? Would you rather have a tractor or a horse pulling your plough?

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