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Post by Stephen on Jul 27, 2017 15:00:01 GMT
milseáin mention in another Thread asking "Is Small Beautiful?". This got me thinking about distributism. Distributism is an economic ideology that is based upon the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum novarum and Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo anno. distributes believe that property ownership is a fundamental right, the means of production should be spread as widely as possible, rather than being centralized under the control of the state, a few individuals, or corporations. Distributism, therefore, advocates a society marked by widespread property ownership. What do people think? It is associated with the great G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc! Which gives it a thumbs up from the get go   |
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Post by cato on Jul 27, 2017 18:56:23 GMT
Sounds a bit like Maggie Thatcher's privitisation share sell off when record numbers of working class people bought shares in former state assets (which they quickly sold to bigger investors) and her highly popular sale of council houses to those renting them.
Mind you by stopping building new houses councils here and there helped cause the current housing mess. Giving people a physical stake in their communities does create responsibility and pride. If you don't own something or get it "free" you don't value it and take it for granted and often trash it.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Jul 28, 2017 9:39:58 GMT
I like the ideals of Distributism, but how they are to be achieved is something that has never been clear to me. If setting up a credit union or a small farm is Distributism in action, then I say: "Hurray for that kind of Distributism".
I don't believe any kind of radical economic transformation is possible. I think we are stuck with capitalism of one kind or another. Unless there is some sort of technological breakthrough which puts us into a post-scarcity situation.
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Post by Séamus on Oct 25, 2017 6:30:33 GMT
I like the ideals of Distributism, Etc ". I don't believe any kind of radical economic transformation is possible. I think we are stuck with capitalism of one kind or another. Unless there is some sort of technological breakthrough which puts us into a post-scarcity situation. After her surprise coalition-propped elevation to New Zealand's top job prime minister Jacinda Ardern, apparently a former head of the International Union of Socialist Youth, was asked in her first interview whether capitalism had failed poorer New Zealanders. " If you have thousands of children living in homes without enough to survive, that's a blatant failure, what else could you describe it as?... Has it failed our people in recent times? Yes. How can you claim you've been successful when you have growth roughly 3%, but you've got the worst homelessness in the developed world?" A commentator remarked that she is using a Labor/University study that used a very broad definition of homelessness by international standards. The commentator goes on to remark that NZ Labor's "new look has got more to do with the international movement elevating the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders" |
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Post by Matteo on Dec 19, 2017 14:40:02 GMT
milseáin mention in another Thread asking "Is Small Beautiful?". This got me thinking about distributism. Distributism is an economic ideology that is based upon the principles of Catholic social teaching, especially the teachings of Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum novarum and Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo anno. distributes believe that property ownership is a fundamental right, the means of production should be spread as widely as possible, rather than being centralized under the control of the state, a few individuals, or corporations. Distributism, therefore, advocates a society marked by widespread property ownership. What do people think? It is associated with the great G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc! Which gives it a thumbs up from the get go |
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Post by Matteo on Dec 19, 2017 14:43:36 GMT
I am the president of the Italian Distributist Movement (distributismomovimento.blogspot.com) and I will stay in Ireland for working reasons for a while. I wonder if there is any distributist group in Ireland.
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Post by Maolsheachlann on Dec 19, 2017 14:46:37 GMT
I hope you enjoy your stay in Ireland, but I'm not aware of any Distributist group, I'm afraid.
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Post by cato on Dec 20, 2017 9:01:06 GMT
Ireland did at one stage have one of the highest property owning statistics in the world but it has become nigh near impossible for younger people even reasonably well paid couples to buy property. We have a large generational imbalance where the older generation where property ownership is concentrated has never been as well off particularly when you factor in relatively generous pensions especially in the public sector. They are also living longer which means property is taking longer to be handed down the family line.
Their children and grandchildren are reckoned to see an actual fall in their standard of living which is unprecedented in recent western history. That's not good news for a stable society.
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Post by ClassicalRepublican on Dec 20, 2017 11:52:36 GMT
It strikes me that these ideas overlap with Jeffersonian republicanism, where the widest possible property ownership is the greatest insulator of citizens' liberties against the state. This philosophy informed the Louisiana Purchase to a great extent.
Contemporary civic republicanism has the idea of non-domination, whereby we should maximise the arrangement of society so that nobody is dependant an anyone else for their well-being, or where such dependencies limit the exercise of rights. For example, you may feel like you may not freely and publicly express political opinions which are in opposition to your landlord's opinions.
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Post by Stephen on Dec 20, 2017 12:10:13 GMT
Ireland did at one stage have one of the highest property owning statistics in the world but it has become nigh near impossible for younger people even reasonably well paid couples to buy property. We have a large generational imbalance where the older generation where property ownership is concentrated has never been as well off particularly when you factor in relatively generous pensions especially in the public sector. They are also living longer which means property is taking longer to be handed down the family line. Their children and grandchildren are reckoned to see an actual fall in their standard of living which is unprecedented in recent western history. That's not good news for a stable society. Is this a problem all over Ireland or is it a large urban centers problem? I suppose stagnation in wages does not help. |
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