Distributism and Development

In his book on the Peruvian village of Pomatamba, Adam K. Webb applies the much-mocked Distributism of GK Chesterton and Hillaire Belloc to issues of globalization and development.  In an interview available on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute web site, he answers a question of whether he is a liberal or conservative this way:

“In the usual sense, neither. Obviously I’m concerned with social justice, with a fairer distribution of the world’s goods and with relieving poverty. I think most so-called conservatives are too enamored of an unfettered market. But I’m also a traditionalist, in that I think modern society has lost sight of the time-tested wisdom of the old civilizations, about how to live and what to demand of people. Liberals tend to neglect those foundations. And the radical left, even when it doesn’t cause carnage like the Shining Path did, tends to concentrate power in large bureaucracies. The story of Pomatambo moves me in part because I think communities like it still cling to what more prosperous parts of the world have largely lost: a sense of duty, of small decencies, of belonging. I’d like to see these communities prosper while keeping the best of what they have. I’m encouraged by one fact. My blend of traditional values and social justice may seem odd on the usual political spectrum. But it’s pretty close to what the rural poor in villages like this one want themselves. I’d even go so far as to say that, if you took the pulse of ordinary people in much of the world, you’d find more sympathy for this than for some of the fashionable ideologies of the last century. Maybe we need a political realignment in many countries to reflect that.”