John Médaille is a businessman in Irving, Texas, and also an Instructor in Theology at the University of Dallas, where he teaches a unique course on the Social Encyclicals for Business Students. He is the father of five, grandfather of two, and husband of one. He is the author of The Vocation of Business: Social Justice in the Marketplace and is finishing up another book, Equity and Equilibrium: The Political Economy of Distributism. John also blogs at The Distributist Review.
John Médaille
Articles by John Médaille
The Judge Recants
Karl Polyani noted that “Laissez-faire was planned; planning was not.” Planning was always an ad hoc response to the failures of capitalism and never constituted a single, rational response, but…
But Is He More Popular than the Beatles?
An editorial in Politiken, Denmark's largest newspaper, states that Obama is greater then Jesus. And if you are perplexed by this remark, The Reformed Pastor, David Fishchler helps you understand…
Distributism and Global Warming
Not a Single Cube of Ice In November of 2008, the cargo ship Camilla Desgagnés delivered supplies to the Arctic village of Kugluctuk. It did so by traversing the Northwest…
Burn the Vineyard
I have just returned from one of the most remarkable journeys of my life, a ten day tour of Romania to promote an anthology of distributist and localist essays, Economic…
Is America Ungovernable?
Otto von Bismark, the 19th century Iron Chancellor and architect of modern Germany, once remarked that “If you like law and sausages, you shouldn't watch either being made.” One could…
The Fall of the Wall
In my misspent youth, I was a politician. And in my role as a politician, I did all the things that politicians do. Well, not all the things; I say…
The Agenda: Political or Economic?
Irving, TX. The Front Porch Republic has been graced by two contributions from Mark Mitchell and Caleb Stegall on the political agenda for front-porchers. And while one may quibble with…
The “One Salvation” of Ludwig von Mises
There is no doubt that the Catholic Church supports the idea of a just social order, and has expounded on that order in the great Social Encyclicals. However, and despite…
Jib Jab on Big Box Mart
More truth than humor: Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!
Is Economics a Science?
One salient fact about this recession is that 90% of the working economists missed the warning signs, and those who predicted a disaster were marginalized and ridiculed. This, however, is…
The Nobel Prize
"When small men cast long shadows, you know the sun is setting." Lao Tzu
I Can’t Read My New Book
My new book is an anthology of writings on economic liberty. Unfortunately, I'm not actually able to read the published edition, since it is in Romanian. My co-editor, Dr. Ovidiu…
Localizing Health Care
Having found fault with Dr. Iliff's admirable efforts, it is incumbent on me to show whether distributism has any real answers or practical plans. There can be no question that…
Building the Ownership Society
This is, at last, the last chapter of my new book, Equity and Equilibrium: The Political Economy of Distributism. I post it here because so many questions have arisen on…
The Fear Monger’s Shop
One of the more interesting “advertisers” on A Prairie Home Companion is the “Fear-Monger's Shop,” catering to all your phobia needs. Garrison Keillor is of course satirizing what commercial advertisers…
Who Owns Our Jobs?
Irving, TX. We have all been trained up to the belief that jobs are something in the gift of great corporations or government bureaucracies. True, there are still places in…
Benedict on Business: What’s Love Got to Do With It?
Irving, Texas. Since its beginnings with Aristotle and Plato, the study of economics has always been regarded as a branch of philosophy, a colony of politics and ethics. But all…
The Red Tories and the Civic State
Phillip Blond Irving, TX. It has been sometime since I have called myself a “conservative.” It is not that any of my opinions have changed, but rather that conservatism forgot…
Cleanup in Pew 16
I have just returned from two weeks in England, were I was more or less out of touch with the internet. The occasion was a conference at the University of…
The Peasantry of the Future
Irving, TX. In answer to the question, “What do the poor want?” Simone Weil replied “They want you to look at them.” I take Simone's answer to mean we must…
Capitalism as an Unnatural System
Ever since capitalism made its appearance in the late Middle Ages and came to dominate both production and politics in the late 18th century, there has been a vigorous debate…
Is the Devil From Paris?
Irving, Texas. Is the devil from Paris? Many people seem to think so. And if not the devil himself, then at least a particular demon, one whose name is not…
The Economics of Distributism V: The Practice of Distributism
Irving, TX. Somewhere, the Sage hath said, Philosophy is easy; plumbing is hard. The Sage is correct; we should be suspicious of systems that exist only in the mind, but…
The Economics of Distributism IV: Property and the Just Wage
Dallas, TX. In the last installment, we maintained that the only means to economic equilibrium was the just wage: unless each person gets a fair proportion of the wealth he…