Hilaire Belloc
French-English writer and politician (1870–1953); a founder of distributism; wrote The Servile State.
At a glance
Main ideas
Distributism, Against capitalism and socialism, The servile state …
See all 4Books to start with
The Path to Rome, Cautionary Tales for Children, The Servile State …
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G. K. Chesterton and The Servile State
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Belloc was a French-English writer and political activist who wrote history, politics, economics, poetry, travel writing and satire.
- Born in France, he became a naturalised British subject in 1902 and was a Liberal MP from 1906 to 1910.
- His Catholicism strongly shaped his work.
- Opposed to both capitalism and communism, he was one of the founders of distributism.
- His writings were at times supportive of antisemitism and at other times condemnatory of it.
Why it matters
- With G.
- K.
- Chesterton he founded distributism, and The Servile State remains its foundational text; his Cautionary Tales for Children sold widely.
Key facts
- Born
- 27 Jul 1870, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France1
- Died
- 16 Jul 1953, Mount Alvernia Nursing Home, Guildford, Surrey1
- Education
- Balliol College, Oxford, from 1893; first-class degree in history, 1895; President of the Oxford Union1
- Parliament
- Liberal MP for Salford South from 1906 to 19101
- Editor
- Land and Water, from 1914 to 19201
- Nationality
- Naturalised British subject in 1902, keeping French citizenship1
Main ideas
-
Distributism1
A market economy that favours widespread ownership, cooperatives and small firms over concentrated economic power.
-
Against capitalism and socialism1
He opposed both, and argued distributism was a return to the property of Catholic Europe.
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The servile state2
Capitalism tends toward a state where the propertyless majority is compelled by law to work for owners.
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Theology underneath1
He took from Cardinal Manning that "all human conflict is ultimately theological".
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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