Synopses & Reviews
This short work is a program for property distribution as an alternative to how it is planned by socialist states or naturally happens in capitalist societies. It is a landmark of European social thought, attempting to rectify the wrongs in both of the major economic theories by approaching the problem from an entirely new angle. The essay is thus an anticapitalist and antisocialist work of Christian and Catholic social thought in which basic truths about society and human nature are applied to socioeconomics. It is a manifesto and a program for the Distributist League, of which Belloc and G. K. Chesterton were the primary figures. It marks a key point in the history of economic thought, and it is a fundamental text illustrating the influence of religion and philosophy on social thought and their practical application to societal questions.
About the Author
Hilaire Belloc began his academic career with a lecture tour of the United States in 1892. He became literary editor of the
Morning Post and was elected to the House of Commons in 1906. He wrote several novels, such as
Mr. Clutterbuck's Election and
A Change in the Cabinet, along with historical works such as
The French Revolution and the
History of England. Belloc also published a series of historical biographies:
Oliver Cromwell,
James II,
Richelieu,
Wolsey,
Napoleon, and
Charles II.