Distributism

Distributism, also known as distributionism and distributivism, is G. K. Chesterton's, Hilaire Belloc's, and other modern Catholic thinkers' political philosophy. According to distributism, the means of production should be spread as widely as possible among the populace, rather than being centralized in the hands of the state (socialism) or a minority of individuals (capitalism). An example would be an economy of entire sustenance farmers. These ideas are also endorsed in 19th and 20th century Papal teachings. A good summary of distributism is Chesterton's quip: "The problem with capitalism is that there are not enough capitalists."

In 1930s America, distributism was treated in numerous essays by Chesterton, Belloc, and others in The American Review, published and edited by Seward Collins. Collins's admiration of Mussolini, coupled with his anti-Semitism, did little to make distributism attractive to a wider audience.

For more information and links, see http://mdemarco.web.wesleyan.edu/gkc/distrib/