Between Distributism and Capitalism

Many people have a misunderstanding of what capitalism really is and says as an economic system. Within the United States, for instance, there has never actually been capitalism. Early monetary scandals are exemplified by the Yazoo land incident in Georgia. Political favors were used to buy land unscrupulously, and then it was divided into lots that at times overlapped each other. Was this capitalism? No, it was fraud, deceit, and use of networking and influence to steal money from others. Capitalism, as a system, thrives on competition. For instance, two businesses competing against each other actually make more money in the long term than a single one in the business would.

That said, capitalism does lack morals. It is an impersonal system that does not care about just treatment of workers. It does not bother with the idea of very small businesses. Capitalism truly does try to get the most for the least, and forgets about your neighbors. Which leads us to Distributism, the system idealized by G. K. and Cecil Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Father Vincent McNabb, and Arthur Penty. This system, like capitalism, respects private property. But, this system is designed for people, not for numbers or efficiency. Co-ops and family businesses and farms, while great things, and well worth supporting and advocating, generally do not work with the scales that give us most modern efficiency. But is efficiency really what we have need of?

Of course, the Distributists seem to have a few things they don't understand. The role, function, and concept of money seems to elude their understanding. Some Distributist articles advocate governments printing money, saying it wouldn't be more inflationary than that printed by the banks. But the fact is, such printing is automatically inflationary. This also ignores the commands in the Bible for honest weights and measures. Some would say that this only applies to business practices, but that doesn't make complete sense. During the writing of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson made not that if the dollar was to be the money of the land, it need to be defined what a dollar was. Thus, it was a specific weight of gold or silver. This definition requires an honest definition, honest scales, and honest standards of measure. Paper money does not have any such scruples, and the printing of more money at will simply results in theft from those who have saved.

What should we take from this? Capitalism, while an impersonal system, does not show mercy, or have room for charity, both commanded in the Bible. But is the Distributist ideal exclusive of capitalism? I don't believe so; capitalism is only an economic system, while Distributism espouses a whole life philosophy: governance at the smallest level possible, private property and land ownership widespread, and small businesses and farms. Distributism also espouses charity, something that Capitalism does not consider with its theories of “economic man”. Distributism can fit within Capitalism, but not within Capitalism's espoused opponent, Socialism. Socialism has no room for private property; ownership is only “widespread” in that nobody owns things, only the governments. Socialist governments also have no mercy, and leave no room for dissent. Vladamir Lenin said, “The goal of socialism is communism.” If this is so, why would we wish to resurrect that oppressive and evil system? Let us work toward Distributist lives within a Capitalist framework.