Jun 23 2009
Where to set up a Distributist Society?
I have been talking a lot about Distributism and setting up a separate, but within the current, society. For me, I consider it the best way to help civilization to survive.
A couple of weeks ago, this appeared in Real Clear Politics:
America’s 10 Freest and Least Free States
From indelibly American quotations like “Give me liberty or give me death” to the iconic pairing of “liberty and justice” in the Pledge of Allegiance, there’s no shortage of examples demonstrating that Americans have historically placed a high value on the concept of freedom.
While the concept of freedom may be in the eye of the beholder, there’s no question that each state has done their best to codify what actions they do and do not leave up to their residents’ choice. But which states give their citizens the most leeway, and which have them on the tightest leash? A study entitled “Freedom In the 50 States: An Index of Personal And Economic Freedom,” published by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University, sets out to answer this question. Click through to see which states rank the highest and lowest by their metrics.
It also linked to the source of this article:
This report got me to thinking:
Where would be the best place to set up this society?
Is the US, Canada or Europe the best right now? I am not too sure. For me, they are either a little to materialistic, too hostile to the model, or have geographic (i.e. Weather) constraints. In addition, the ever increasing Socialist nature of the governments and their incestuous relationship with Global Capitalism, also makes it too hostile to the Distributist Model.
For years, I have been researching way “south of the border” as a possible place to move (especially after I retire) . Why? They are many but, it manly to get away from the over-Materialist and Relativistic nature of society in the United States. For me, it is causing a real threat to the total implosion of society here. As for Europe, it is far worse and Canada is not that far behind.
Although there are pluses and minuses to all of them, there are a few I would consider. Now if I could get my Distubutist brethren interested, we might be able to make a go of it. Even without them, I would consider moving if I were to find the right place.
I just moved back to the states from Mexico, after living there for four years. I did not live in a retirement enclave, one of the many ghettos for retired North American; I lived among the people, went to mass in Spanish, among the poorest people, had two surgeries in a normal Mexican hospital through their public health care system, and thus saw quite a lot that you will not find on any of the websites marketing Mexico as a retirement or escape destination (such as MexConnect). You could ask me questions, provided that you have more qualifications for a potentially distributist-friendly environment than ‘hostility’. I don’t pretend to understand the Mexican government, but they are considerably more left-of-center than our own present one, and abortion has just been legalized in many Mexican states. The rest are barely holding on. Until you have met the modern Mexican materialist family, your version of Mexico is based on the values and lifestyle of fifty years ago. It still exists, in tourist re-enactments (the priest in a tiny village in the Green Mountains where I attended mass every day for a year told his little flock to please pray the rosary before mass, the tourists liked it). Easy money, through dope and illegal immigration, is destroying Mexico. The ordinary Mexican person is being taught to blame you and me for the host of ills facing them. And wait until you experience the Mexican church, the Mexican liturgy! I suggest you go to my site and read Another Eve for a snapshot based on experience.
We have talked about Mexico over on the Yahoo Distributist group and, yes, there are pluses and minuses for Mexico.
One thing we do hold over there, for the most part, is that any Distributist Society must adhere to Catholic Moral and Social Teaching. In fact, it developed from the papal encyclicals Rerum Novaru and Quadragesimo Anno. A bunch of us are waiting for Pope Benedicts new encyclical which is suppose to come out Monday.
If Mexico is your best option, over at the Yahoo group, why don’t you just stay here in the US, being as how Mexico is, ethically speaking, now just about identical to what you criticize here? There were plenty of hippie communes in the sixties that ask nothing of the state but tolerance of their lifestyles. Did the Yahoo group investigate the price of land in Mexico? It’s ridiculously high! Credit is high, too–like, 32% on most credit cards. And do you guys already speak Spanish? Do you know how hard that is? What points did the group actually think made Mexico attractive?
I came here to your site to tell you that the writing called Please Don’t Ask isn’t actually about security questions, and it took me long moments gazing at the comment you left to realize you apparently took those questions as the point. That was just an intro, a way to get into, and exit from, an essay that criticizes Vatican II. Did you see the criticism? Did you get what the last teacher, Scholastica, was actually teaching? Leave another comment! Glad you have a bank credit union, though!
I am a computer programmer, I see something techie and I post on it. It is in my nature. I also just finished a 11.5 hour work day so I am a little, no a lot, tired but I need to wind down before I hit the sack.
This entry is actually a response to a recent thread I started over on the Distributism forum over on Yahoo groups on whether the US would be the best place to implement a distributist model. I agree Mexico (at lease the northern part) would not be an good place. That is why I prefaced “south of the border” with “way”.
I have been looking at countries in Central and South America to move to. One that was of interest, since the confraternity I belong to is run by a religious order with their seminary there, was Brazil. However, recent events has lowered the desirability of there.