Summer 1995

Beyond Left and Right: A Politics of Life

Stratford Caldecott

In England seventy years or so ago, the radical, Christian-led communitarian movement known as "distributism" was proposing the devolution of power to the small nations, regions and localities. It was imbued with a strong sense of the value of place, of environment, and of cultural diversity. It was opposed to centralizing bureaucracy, but at the same time open to Europe (East as well as West). In the face of social decay it called the nation back to the basics of personal loyalty, honesty and family life. It denounced socialism on the one hand (public ownership, the planned economy) and "savage" capitalism on the other (monopolies, plutocracy, wage slavery). It sought a balanced economy through the wide distribution of personal property throughout society.

 

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