On this episode, Chris and regular guest Dr. Jon Schaff unpack an economic and social idea known as distributism. Rooted in the social teaching of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius XI, and others, distributism contains critiques of both unfettered capitalism and socialism, and exhorts society to seek widespread (“distributed”) ownership of capital by small business owners, farmers, and so forth. According to distributism, there are great dangers to freedom and human dignity when capital and power is greatly concentrated in either the state, or in the hands of a very small number of commercial corporations. For more on distributism and its foundations in the magisterium, see this article by Dr. Jared Staudt, the Director of Formation for the Offices of Evangelization and Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Denver and teaches for the Augustine Institute.
