Writing from the perspective of Catholic Social Doctrine, the twelve Catholics who take their stand for an ideal Beyond Capitalism and Socialism are offering an escape to modern man from the horns of the dilemma upon which he is hanging – and upon which he was hung by the makers of the modern world from centuries ago. Rejecting both the collectivist and statist approach to worker security and welfare caretaking, and the even more oppressive laissez-faire conception of modern capitalism in which what’s good for business is good for the world, the authors introduce Distributism, Solidarism, and Corporatism as three schools of effectively the same Social Catholic approach to socio-economic life and organization. Offering historical background, principled and theoretical arguments, and some initial ventures into practical suggestions for implementation of this “third way” beyond capitalism and socialism, the essays contained in this volume will engage, inspire, and perhaps even provoke and aggravate as they flesh out a picture of independent owners and yeoman farmers, small business associations, and economic life subordinated to the genuine good of man rather than vice versa. What they will not do is fail to shatter the left vs. right paradigm into which all modern thinking about economics and society has been forced.
Editor’s Preface —Tobias J. Lanz, Ph.D.
Foreword —Kirkpatrick Sale
Introduction —John Sharpe
I. Passing on the Tradition
1. A Distributist Remembers-Aidan Mackey
2. I Fear No Peevish Master: The Romance of Distributism-Anthony Cooney
3. R.I.P. Triumph Magazine: A Memorial to an American Distributist Enterprise-Gary Potter
II. Principles Historical and Theoretical
4. Part of this Complete Breakfast: G. K. Chesterton’s Distributism-Dale Ahlquist
5. Un Homme de Tradition: René de La Tour du Pin and the Principle of Association-Christopher Blum, Ph.D.
6. Father Vincent McNabb’s “Call to Contemplatives”-Peter Chojnowski, Ph.D.
7. Capitalism and Distributism: Two Systems at War-Thomas Storck
8. Heinrich Pesch and the Idea of a Catholic Economics-Rupert Ederer, Ph.D.
9. Distributism and “Modern Economics”-Ed McPhail, Ph.D.
III. Sketches Personal and Practical
10. The Economy of Salvation-Fr. Lawrence Smith
11. “For the Life of This Pig”-William Edmund Fahey, Ph.D.
12. Economics Begins at Home-Tobias J. Lanz, Ph.D.
Suggestions for Further Reading