Distributism ( also known as distributionism or distributivism ) is an economic philosophy that developed in England in the early 20th century 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.

Distributism therefore advocates a society marked by widespread property ownership and, according to co-operative economist Race Mathews, maintains that such a system is key to bringing about a just social order.

Distributism has often been described in opposition to both socialism and capitalism, which distributists see as equally flawed and exploitive.

Distributism favors the dissolution of the current private bank system, or more specifically its profit-making basis in charging interest.

Distributism appears to have one of its greatest influences in anti-trust legislation in America and Europe designed to break up monopolies and excessive concentration of market power in one or only a few companies, trusts, interests, or cartels.

Distributism sees the family of two parents and their child or children as the central and primary social unit of human ordering and the principal unit of a functioning distributist society and civilization.

Distributism reflects this doctrine most evidently by promoting the family, rather than the individual, as the basic type of owner ; that is, distributism seeks to ensure that most families, rather than most individuals, will be owners of productive property.

Distributism puts great emphasis on the principle of subsidiarity.

Distributism favors the elimination of social security on the basis that it further alienates man by making him more dependent on the Servile State.

Distributism promotes a society of artisans and culture.

Chesterton thought that Distributism would benefit from the discipline that theoretical analysis imposes, and that distributism is best seen as a widely encompassing concept inside of which any number of interpretations and perspectives can fit.

Distributism does not attach itself to one national political party or another in any part of the world, but it has influenced Christian Democratic parties in Continental Europe and the Democratic Labor Party in Australia.

Distributism is known to have had an influence on the economist E. F. Schumacher, a convert to Catholicism.

Some Distributists claim that the rhetorical marketing of this policy was influenced by aphorisms of the Distributist ideology and promotes Distributism.

* Sagar, S. Distributism.

Some may claim the Catholic Social Teaching ( see Distributism ) of subsidiarity contradicts Ultramontanism and accuse it of decentralizing the Roman Catholic Church, whereas others defend it as merely a bureaucratic adjustment to give more pastoral responsibility to local bishops and pastors of local parishes.

In addition to featuring essays by many critics of modernity, The American Review also became the a vehicle for spreading the ideas associated with English Distributism, the supporters of which included G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.

Consequently, the periodical served for its brief period as a highly successful national platform for English Distributism, which advocated broad property ownership, local means of production, and subsistence farming.

The Flag Group did some ideological work of its own, and the ideas of Social Credit and Distributism were popular, but the chief preoccupation was still race relations.