Alex Salter was the right person to write a book about distributism. He is well-known as a serious economist, committed Orthodox Christian, and generous interlocutor. Unlike most other economists, he really loves the distributist thinkers (especially Chesterton), which makes him eager to both correct and preserve their legacy. Ubi amor, ibi oculus.
The core thesis of The Political Economy of Distributism is that even though Hilaire Belloc and G. K. Chesterton made some basic economic (and historical) errors, their insights about political economy remain worthy of consideration. Salter takes great care to distinguish economics—which is a science with its own set of natural laws—from political economy—which is the art of building a good society. The primary claim of distributists that is worth “taking seriously” (to use Salter’s favorite turn of phrase) is that property must be widely distributed if true liberty is to be enjoyed. He holds up Wilhelm Röpke as a model for distributist thinkers and economists alike, as one who understood price theory while still being committed to upholding human dignity, the value of work, and family life. The book concludes by reflecting on ways to move forward with our inheritance from distributists, suggesting both a progressive research program and practical applications, such as the movement of common good capitalism.
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