The Political Economy of Distributism

"A clear treatment of an incredibly complex and comprehensive set of ideas. The relatively simple narrative of three primary thinkers gives a structure to the wider debate that is being illuminated. The prose is weighty without being dense. The citations are appropriate for the material that is being presented. The ideas are documented carefully without self-indulgent tangents that would be distracting to the main narrative. Salter points with clarity to those that are currently engaging in the frontiers of scholarship while establishing an omission in the current literature from thinkers whose important contributions are missing from that conversation. Salter should be commended in taking on more controversial topics with examples that could be misunderstood if not treated carefully."

~Michael David Thomas, Creighton University

" The Political Economy of Distributism is a refreshing read. Alexander William Salter helpfully separates the wheat from the chaff in the social and economic views of Hilaire Belloc, G. K. Chesterton, and Wilhelm Ropke. A sympathetic portrayal of their economic concerns and positive vision for society is offered, one which pays them the respect of pointing out when they've made economic mistakes. But rather than dismissing their views wholesale, Salter shows how despite some faulty economic science there is much to value in their economic philosophy. The end result is a scholarly work that takes property, liberty, and the common good seriously."

~Ryan T. Anderson, President, Ethics and Public Policy Center

"Professor Salter does the American public a great service by shedding new light and bringing new voices to bear on the Common Good Capitalism conversation. Our country has never been about the pursuit of profits above all else, just as it has never been about totalitarian socialism. Yet for several decades our economic discourse has been dominated by a bipartisan economic consensus that puts man at the service of markets. Fortunately, that is beginning to change. The Political Economy of Distributism is on the crest of a new wave of literature using ancient wisdom, Catholic Social Teaching, and modern science to chart a better, more dignified path forward for America. I am grateful to Professor Salter for his contributions, and I am confident that, God willing, they will bear fruit for our nation."

~Marco Rubio, United States Senator, R-FL

"With his brilliant The Political Economy of Distributism, Alex Salter has created a true tour de force. Delving deeply into the tragically neglected works of G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, and Wilhelm Roepke, Salter also considers the very important works and ideas of James Buchanan, Douglass North, Adrian Vermeulle, Joseph Pearce, and Patrick Deneen. Most interesting, though, are Salter’s own ideas and take on distributism. Rightly recognizing the distributists as better social critics than actual economists, he masterfully connects property rights to economic security and to political stability. The Political Economy of Distributism is a book that demands a place on the shelf of every serious and thoughtful person."

~Bradley J. Birzer, author of Russell Kirk: American Conservative

"Dr. Salter’s book is a much-needed scholarly work on the ideas of distributism, as presented in the writings of Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton. Written in such a way that it will pass muster in the ivory towers of academe, it is also accessible for any reader interested in politics and economics, or indeed the minds and ideas of messieurs Belloc and Chesterton."

~The Imaginative Conservative

"The strength of Salter’s book is that it reminds us how liberty is dependent on property, and how property gives institutional birth to liberty. This theme can never be emphasized enough in an age when property rights are so trivialized by progressives and, increasingly, conservative interventionists."

~National Review

"Offers some much needed practical clarity and prudential wisdom."

~Crisis Magazine

"An excellent book, which should serve as an important introduction to distributism for both economists and non-economists"

~University Bookman

"Salter shows how Belloc and Chesterton’s insights fit into contemporary research about questions of the state, the nature of economic freedom, the relationship of democracy and economic freedom, and justice in market exchanges. He cites research on these topics that shows the distributists were on to something.... The Political Economy of Distributism concludes with a reflection on the core insight of the distributist project: ownership of property is crucial for the particular kind of liberty necessary for a society such as ours to be healthy."

~Claremont Review of Books

"These ideas of freedom, limitation of the state’s role, and common good, are not the preserve of distributism. As noted in this book, much needs to be done to clarify the relevant concepts and to articulate the vision of a humane economy, an economy ‘as if people mattered’. And then that vision and those concepts must be made politically significant by being disseminated to a wider constituency. I welcome and recommend this book as a valuable contribution to the task, drawing on one important strand in the tradition."

~Centre for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics

"An excellent starting point for bringing distributism into our modern world, and anyone looking for ways to navigate our current political and economic situation would do well to pick it up."

~Jason Waskovich, St. Austin Review