Are Catholics supposed to be Socialists? Capitalists? Believe it or not, the Catholic Church has its own perspective on the ‘dismal science’ of Economics – one that most Catholics have never heard of. It’s called ‘Distributism’ and it’s all about common sense. Now, before your eyes glaze over, here’s how it works.
is for Agrarianism, which is at the heart of Catholic economics. The idea that families and small towns or villages can solve most problems without interference from national governments is integral to all Catholic social doctrine.
is for Belloc, Hillaire, the co-creator, with G.K Chesterton, of the formal term for Catholic economics, Distributism. As a working term, Distributism was considered more descriptive than anything else, and the two were essentially unsatisfied with it. Lacking any suitable alternative, however, they spent the better part of two decades explaining its practical application, and updating its doctrines as new papal teachings were introduced.
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By William Schulz
William Schulz is a native New Orleanian living forty five minutes north of the city, in a small rural parish formerly run by Dominican priests. He is a recent law school graduate, currently clerking while preparing for the bar examination. He has been married for twelve years and he and his wife have two young children, an old German Shepherd dog, and a finicky cat.