The Distributist Review: October 2006

Distributism, Cities and Labor Unions

During the 1990's, I was editor/publisher of the small circulation news letter The Distributist. I was honored to have John Peterson - one of the founder of the Midwest Chesterton Society - write an essay called "Distributism and Labor Unions" for the newsletter. Just recently, the Blog of the American Chesterton Society (or BACS to use an acronym) has reprinted the essay on their October 20th entry.

Eleven years after it was written, it still has power and insight. For those in America and elsewhere who are members of labor unions, there is much food for thought here. Apply what you've learned from it to your particular workplace situation.

Four years later, Peterson gave a speech in Chicago on applying Distributist principles to changing urban neighborhoods in little ways. BACS also reprinted it on October 27th and you may see it here.

John Peterson is a veteran Distributist and Chesterton scholar. I have learned much from him and am grateful to him for it. I am certain you will as well.

Comments are welcome. Thank you.

Microbrews, The World and You

G. K. Chesterton - co-founder of Distributism - was a man who loved his beer and ale. He was an opponent of the Prohibition laws when they were in effect in 1920's America. He valued the old English pubs and their heady, hearty concoctions. Were he still among us today, he'd get a chuckle from reading this report from the left-wing news and opinion site Alternet.com called "How Microbrew Can Save The World".

Chris O'Brien, who writes for Foreign Policy In Focus, notes that small-scale homebrewing of beers and ales help to contribute to strengthening local economies. They also provide much needed competition to the five big brewing companies that currently control 41 percent of the world's demand for beer and ale. Such intrepid microbrewing operations deserve our respect and our total support. Distributism favors small businesses and co-operatives over big businesses. So backing the microbrews goes without saying.

By the way, Mr. O'Brien has recently written a book along the lines of his report. It's called Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World. Alas, not a Distributist work, for Mr. O'Brien's circles of influence are Socialist rather than Distributist. But God still works miracles and hope springs eternal. One never knows.....

Roberts on "Rival Criminals"

Posted on the controversial alternative news and opinion website Rense.com, this hard-hitting piece by Paul Craig Roberts on how both the American Left and Right have got it wrong on fixing the nation's problems. Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the Reagan years, posts his observations in light of the conviction of one of the former heads of Enron.

One thing he writes is both pointed and poignant:

"When people no longer understand that civil liberties are more important than political agendas, they have lost sight of the belief system that protects them. Beliefs are more important than institutions."

It seems that Roberts is - slowly but surely - leaning toward Distributism. If so, then he deserves all the encouragement he can get. Well done, sir, well done.

Credit Card Debt Crushing Consumers

This report from the left-wing Common Dreams News Wire reports on how credit cards and their interest rates are gouging the American consumer. The report sites that in 2004 nearly half of all households in the country are heavilly in debt.

In the report, a "Borrower's Security Act" is proposed. If the state governments would do likewise first, to set a good example, it is all the better. High credit card debt - and the interest rates charged on these cards - does nothing to improve the economic health of the country. Helping the consumer and the worker to get out of debt, as well as cutting the power of credit card companies - especially on the local level - will only benefit the country.

China Waking Up From Maoist Nightmare?

This report by Tan Hohwa of The Epoch Times, associated with the Falun Gong cult, reports that high ranking members of the Chinese Communist Party are demanding changes in government policies based on Mao Zedong's ideology.

This comes on the heels of reports that planned national celebrations of Mao's birthday - September 9th - were cancelled in many places with little or no explanation why.

The demands for such a "re-evaluation" of Mao threatens to unleash earthquakes throughout the Communist tyranny. But whether such actions will finally release China from five decades of Satan-inspired tyranny remains to be seen and may not happen.

Hohwa asks in his article, "How long can Mao's evil spirit still rule China?"

The answer: It will rule until the Pope and the world's Catholic bishops solemnly and publicly consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Until it is done, China - and the rest of the world - remains in grave danger.

Along with the Consecration, China must renounce Communism and turn to Distributism, so that the majority of her people - still mired in poverty - can have a chance at a brighter future.

Don't Depend on Democrats

The Bush Administration has all but destroyed habeus corpus with the signing of the Military Commisions Act of 2006. This has all but gutted the Constitution for citizens and non-citizens alike. In light of this and other scandals involving the Republicans, many are hoping the Democrats controlling one or both Houses of Congress will begin to fix things.

Columnist Devvy Kidd, writing for the news and opinion website News With Views, strongly disagrees. Both Democrats and Republicans have eaten away at our rights and freedoms for decades. Globalists have - in effect - controlled both parties for a long time. Members of BOTH parties have voted for both PATRIOT Acts. They also voted for Clinton's so-called "Anti-Terrorism Act of 1996", which helped to pave the way for the so-called PATRIOT Acts.

Only when America learns more about Distributism - and puts it's tenets into practice - will we see this once-great country recover it's greatness. Not before.

Miracle of the Sun's Warning to Mankind

October 13th of this year was the 90th anniversary of the "Miracle of the Sun" at Fatima, Portugal. Over 70,000 people were witnesses to this wonderous event of Heaven. Our Blessed Mother, during these times and afterwards, also commanded that the Pope and the world's Catholic bishops consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.

It has been ninety years, and both Pope and bishops have not done so. And the weeping masses of mankind have suffered ever since.

Francis at the blog Filipino Flavour reminds us of the need for the Fatima Consecration. Heaven demands it and will not accept "No" for an answer. So long as the Pope and bishops say "No", we will never see brighter days ever again.

That is not hyperbole. It is fact. Go here to find out how YOU can help bring this about.

Castro Crushes Small Eateries

With grateful thanks to Iosue Andreas at The Western Confucian, this is a two-year old report from the pro-globalist weekly magazine The Economist. It is about how the Communist Cuban regime is squeezing the life out of the mom-and-pop restaurants that tourists flock to.

So long as the Communists retain power in that poor island, the brave Cuban people will never see brighter days. If the day ever dawns that Cuba becomes Distributist, they can breathe a grateful sigh of relief.

Mini-Cheese Making A Blessing to Georgian Farmers

This report, dated October 16th, comes from CHF International, a group that funds and co-ordinates small self-help and co-operative ventures in the Third World and Eastern Europe.

In this small villiage in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, the major cash generator for the people has been growing potatoes and cattle breeding. With financing from both CHF and the US Agency for International Development, six local business leaders fixed up an old mini-cheese making factory in the town. This was after the local area began fixing up their own road and bridge systems and waterworks.

The majority of the milk purchased for cheese-making comes from the community itself, about 28% of the residents, according to the CHF report. The cheese has done so well, even 1 1/2 tons of it were exported to Greece!

This is good news for small communities looking to improve their economy and social situations, whether in America, Russia or elsewhere. This is one of Distributism's tenets - local co-operative ventures - put into action. This also helps to diversify their economic base, making them less dependent on potatoes and cattle for their income.

It is always good to have a mixture of economic activities in a town, city or region. Flexibility is key to keeping a region prosperous. Tying a town or region's future to mostly cattle or grain or steelmaking or service industries guarantees instability. Genuine economic diversity is always a desired goal.

So congratulations to these Georgians and to CHF International for this piece of good news.

Is Grameen Bank Founder Distributist Or No?

As posted on the October 14th edition of The Western Confucian - formerly known as Katholic Shinja - our collegue Iosue Andreas notes that the founder of the Grameen Bank has won the Nobel Peace prize for 2006. Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus, who also invented the concept of "Micro-credit", won the award for his work in helping the poor of Third World nations start their own small businesses.

As reported by the pro-Catholic AsiaNews, based in Italy, Grameen Bank - started in 1983 - now has over 1000 branches and over two million clients, most of them women. However, as AsiaNews notes, Grameen has strict loan regulation enforcement. Complaints are that Grameen has taken on more big business-like practices.

Furthermore, the Austrian School Libertarians at the magazine The Free Market - published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute - reported as far back as 1995 that Grameen uses it's influence inpart to advocate for both contraception and abortion. According to the magazine's editor Jeffrey Tucker - who is also the article writer and has a history of misunderstanding Distributism - Grameen's founder believes "that population and marriage are the primary causes of Bangladesh's poverty". For example, number 6 of "The Sixteen Decisions" - a set of values that the Bank promotes - advocates planning "to keep our families small".

That is something Distributism can never support, for that promotes one of the agendas of the Sexual Revolution - population reduction.

Some of the figures Tucker cites may or may not be substantiated, as Mr. Andreas sited in a response to a comment I made about the AsiaNews report, and I agree with his analysis. Grameen may be a benefit to many in the Third World, but it is not the cure-all for it's many problems. Much of what "micro-credit" advocates fits in well with Distributist Thought, but not all of it. Attacking marriage and families, as well as advancing a globalist and eugenicist dystopia via the UN, is completely unacceptable.

Let those of us promoting Distributism worldwide be wary of the Grameen Bank and it's value system. As we are taught in Holy Scripture, "Test everything, hold fast to what is good."

Get Out of the Co-ops Way!

Posteed on the October 14th edition of Kevin Carson's Free Market Anti-Capitalism blog, there is an article and responses to a report by Chris Dillow on the workings of co-operatives. Worker-owned and managed cooperatives are a key factor in the workings of a Distributist economy. Carson, though not a Distributist, makes some good points in his article.

Confederation Model For School Systems?

Originally posted on September 21st, and noted by author and columnist Kevin Carson on his Free Market Anti-Capitalism blog, this is a article by Canadian independent consultant Harold Jarche.

It is a proposed alternative to the centralized - and increasingly godless - public school system in the USA and Canada. It is for a loose confederation of small schools, connected together by modern technology and the Internet, tailoring lessons and curriculum to meet the needs of students in their local areas.

An interesting concept that - in part - holds high two of Distributism's tenets - decentralization and localization. Comments on his article are welcome.

Roberts Condemns Bush's Policies

Posted on the controversial news and opinion website Rense.com, Paul Craig Roberts - former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration and former Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page - has written a brisk and scathing commentary on the Bush administration's conduct of both the Iraq and Afghani Wars and the economy.

One point of note in his column deserves attention. During the month of September, 2006, the American economy had a net growth of only 59,000 jobs - almost all in the service sector. During the same month, America lost 19,000 manufacturing jobs!

A nation cannot base it's economy on a predominately service economy. It must grow things, mine things and make things to be prosperous. Both American political parties have pushed the country down this path toward a mostly service economy for years. Their ideas are bankrupt, based either in Socialism or Global Capitalism. They are the defenders of the Servile State that Belloc warned of so long ago.

Distributism can and will fix many of the problems that have led us to this pit of misery. It will not cure them all, for it never claimed it could. But the alternative is to continue to wallow in the muck and mire we're in forever. And that is too sad to contemplate.

It can be reversed and will. Learn about Distributism, and put in into practice wherever you find yourself. It can be done. ALL IS NOT LOST!

Thailand Coup Leaders Help Small Business

As reported by the right-wing London Telegraph, the junta now running the Kingdom of Thailand has infomred the people running the British-based Tesco department store chain that they will not be allowed to expand unrestricted anymore into their country.

After receiving complaints from small business owners, Tesco and a dozen other chain-store companies must put their Thai expansion plans on hold for now.

As the cliche goes, there is a silver lining in every cloud. Though it was wrong to overthrow the previous government, the current junta is keeping the economic health of Thai citizens in mind with their proposed new regulations. The market economy works when there are as many businesses operating as possible, especially if they're small and medium-sized ones and co-operatives. Chain-stores destroying their competition hurt it.

Let's hope and pray the new elected government in Bangkok will continue this good effort.

Devvy Kid On Wall Street Wackiness

From the right-wing news and opinion website News With Views - directed via Rense.com - we have columnist and writer Devvy Kidd once again give a fiery broadside to the powers that be. She is not a distributist, but she's gives good insight and advice that we Distributists and others of good will should heed.

The current record highs on Wall Street are, as Kidd points out, financial illusions at best. The American public is being deceived with these record gains. Her column is a wake-up call for Americans and others of good will to hear.

"Athanasius" On Gun Control

Gun control is the gateway to Marxist and Fascist tyranny. In light of the tragedy of the Amish Shootings, it is without a doubt that advocates of gun control will use this horror to promote the evil of disarming the public. The writer for the weblog Athanasius Contra Mundum speaks of such a horrid idea in his latest post, which you can link to here.

In light of this, we'd also like to direct you to the Wisconsin-based Libertarian-oriented group Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. They are the group that has done research that linked many of America's gun control laws to those of Nazi Germany. We encourage you to check them out and support them, especially in these dark days ahead of us. Thank you.

One In Ten Filipinos Are Co-op Members

According to a poll done by the Manila-based ABS-CBN News website, 11% of Filipinos are members of a cooperative. The majority belong to "multi-purpose" co-ops (42%) and credit co-ops (36%).

That is spectacular news for the Phillipines. Here and there, piece by piece, the nations of the Third World are rejecting both Marxism and multinational Capitalism. They are beginning to implement Distributist policies and practices, to enhance their economic and political well-being and fight the threat of terrorism and globalism.

Good news from Manila and congratulations to them for it!

Hungary At The Crossroads

This report, written by Zoltan Simon for the French-based AFP, come to us from Yahoo News and dated October 1st.

The current government in Budapest is in trouble for it's current prime minister, a Socialist, admitting on tape to lying to the public regarding the current economic and political turmoil his nation is undergoing now. Local elections have given seats to the pro-capitalist rival Fidesz party. The prime minister refuses to resign, and national protests have - at times - turned violent.

Hungary cannot pull itself out of it's doldrums of massive debt, unemployment and turmoil unless it starts walking in a Distributist direction. Otherwise, that poor country will experience more of the same pain it is enduring now.

US Middle Class In Shambles

Via the controversial news and opinion website Rense.com, this report from the pro-globalist CNN Money tells of American families still not saving enough money - are still in debt - and are struggling to pay the bills.

When jobs are outsourced overseas, when the dollar is not based on any commodity, when big business continues to dominate the economy, when "free trade" and globalism is the rule of the day for the elites running the American government, it is the poor and middle classes that suffer as a result.

Distributism - though not a cure-all - will fix many of the problems the middle classes are undergoing. It is up to us to tell them about it, and help them make it work.

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