The Servile State
Hilaire Belloc
(2010-04-23) Kindle Edition.
“. . . If we do not restore the Institution of Property we cannot escape restoring the Institution of Slavery; there is no third course.”
Not that long ago at a gathering a young priest asked me if I had read Belloc's "The Servile State". Well, now I have and I am glad I did. Apart from being impressed by how actual a 100 year old book can be, I know I will ponder at length what Belloc deems (and I think quite rightly) slavery to be. He links it firmly with paganism and bemoans the passing of Christendom. Medieval England, Catholic England, had no slaves. Belloc would say that we peaked back then and have been losing ever since.
For Belloc the only way out of servitude is the distributive solution, putting people generally back in charge of the means of production, of property, and therefore of their own lives. He's as death on capitalism as he is on socialism: for Belloc both enslave. I say that and then I hear a very articulate friend shout no to the distributive solution. I think if I saw him again and the topic were broached, I'd take him on and ask why not.
Needless to say, we could talk at length about what makes up slavery and what human dignity. Perhaps our servitude is what makes the bounty of Tolkien's Hobbits such a wonder. If we all had property and produced our own cabbage and potatoes, perhaps in our own simple little way we would indeed be both noble and sovereign. It is all too romantic, is it not?
For Belloc the only way out of servitude is the distributive solution, putting people generally back in charge of the means of production, of property, and therefore of their own lives. He's as death on capitalism as he is on socialism: for Belloc both enslave. I say that and then I hear a very articulate friend shout no to the distributive solution. I think if I saw him again and the topic were broached, I'd take him on and ask why not.
Needless to say, we could talk at length about what makes up slavery and what human dignity. Perhaps our servitude is what makes the bounty of Tolkien's Hobbits such a wonder. If we all had property and produced our own cabbage and potatoes, perhaps in our own simple little way we would indeed be both noble and sovereign. It is all too romantic, is it not?
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