True, not many people know E.F. Schumacher converted to Catholicism and this is because most proponents of his neo-Distributism conveniently ignore his book, “A Guide for the Perplexed.” But it is also true that even the society named after him ignore this very fact and that very book. They shift uncomfortably in their seats when the subject comes up. But what they don’t ignore is religion, if one may call their beliefs “religion.” It just isn’t a religion we could endorse. I know, I’ve been there.

One thing is certain. Joseph Pearce’s brilliant biography of Schumacher has influenced and inspired many Christians, springing them to action. His religion was in the closet for too long and we don’t intend to keep it there any longer.

Although secular relations with Catholics may be different than those we enjoy with other Christians, and although Chesterton did live in different times, you’ve said it yourself: “we don’t always practice what we preach” and it is for this reason, exactly what you’ve said, that we must mind our own house before we clean anyone else’s.

While most of our contributing editors are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and, as we encourage those of other faiths to support and contribute to The Distributist Review, our policy is perhaps best described in the words of Chesterton:

In discussing Distributism I do not insist on Catholicism; but I do insist on candour about Catholicism. I do not propose to conceal my religion; and I do not expect any sincere Protestant to conceal his.

Therefore, TDR’s policy is that contributors respect the views of authors or readers without compromising their own faiths. For example, an author should feel free to write about the economic effects of the Protestant Reformation and how it contributed to our present system. This should not be construed as an attack on the Protestant faiths. Chesterton’s beloved William Cobbett, the 19th Century Anglican and author of the book “History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland,” held this view, as did Anglican members of The Distributist League just one century after Cobbett. Neither should non-Catholics feel intimidated by the papal social encyclical(s), which most Christian Leaguers praised, whether Catholic or not. Therefore, while we anticipate disagreements among distributists, we should not have to mask our differences.

What we do expect is consistency. Thus, distributists identifying themselves as Catholic must be loyal to the Magisterium of the Church and submit to the Vicar of Christ, the Pope. They, along with all other Christian authors on our web site, will display profound respect for distributive justice, subsidiarity, the legitimate exercise of government, cooperation, corporal and spiritual acts of mercy, self-sufficiency, and finally, the significance of the widespread ownership of productive property.

Unlike other movements, which die off or spiral into theosophy and other religious or secular errors, we will not mask our Catholicism. When we are in times of darkness the last thing we do is believe that the solution is found by blowing out the candle.

Well, given that Rothbard’s been dead for over fifteen years, I wasn’t really concerned with holding him to any standard. His work is admired and quoted by many Catholics bedazzled by the Austrian system, so I felt refuting it specifically, and explaining the real Catholic teaching on the state, was important.

I apologize – but unfortunately from my experience this article is not “preaching to the converted.” This assumes all of our readers are “converted.” Many are not. We do not write just for those with ninth degree belts in Distributism, but for the novice, the onlooker, and the unconvinced. While Rothbard was not a follower of CST, many Catholic followers of Rothbard should be. Of course, if they were, they’d ceasing being followers of Rothbard.

Viking