So on July 29th, I published this piece on the descendents of Hilaire Belloc:
In the article I note that, while Belloc still resides in the hearts of some traditionalist Catholics, you can’t dismiss a man who still has scholars writing about him and his impact upon the world.
A few weeks later, I noticed an event invite sent by a friend I haven’t spoken to in many years, of a local Catholic event coming up soon.
A speech about Belloc.
In particular, it was a speech discussing Belloc’s legacy and Distributism.
As a reminder, this is what I wrote about Belloc a month and a half ago:
On some level, Belloc seems as though he is an esoteric obscurity for traditionalist Catholics, an author relevant only to a small select subculture. Yet in reviewing biographies written about Belloc, they are still being produced.
[list of recent works about Belloc]
It’s hard to render one irrelevant who is still generating interest and biographers.
And when you still have an active fan club.
You can’t be considered forgotten when people are still writing and bitching about you after all.
The speaker was Dr. Alan Harrelson, pictured below.
I am very anti-social by nature and don’t go out to many events.
But considering the timing and coincidence, I figured I had to go.
And in going, I immediately ran into two Politica subscribers, two of the twenty whom I know, out of the 82 who are subscribers and not followers.
It was a wonderful time.
I had expected an audience of twelve, and was pleasantly surprised that there were about 150 or so in attendance.
Most were in their late 20s and 30s, there were quite a few kids running around. The proportion of pipe smokers was a bit above the national average, but that’s to be expected when the speaker also fashions himself a pipe-smoking e-celebrity.
Harrelson gave a nice presentation, answered several poignant questions, and it was a very pleasant time.
Interestingly, he placed Belloc’s “Servile State” and other Distributist writings in the context of the Southern Agrarian tradition.
Key Works on Distributism:
Rerum novarum: A papal encyclical by Pope Leo XIII published in 1891
Quadragesimo anno: A papal encyclical by Pope Pius XI published in 1931
Centesimus Annus: A papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II published in 1991
What's Wrong with the World: A book by G. K. Chesterton published in 1910
The Outline of Sanity: A book by G. K. Chesterton published in 1927
Utopia of Usurers: A book by G. K. Chesterton published in 1917
The Servile State: A book by Hilaire Belloc published in 1912
An Essay on the Restoration of Property: A book by Hilaire Belloc published in 1936
There was perhaps only one foolish question, trying to connect Belloc’s thinking to Henry David Thoreau, which Harrelson appropriately shot down pretty hard.
He made some dismissive remarks about Walden Pond, which is understandable for a proud Southerner to do, though I will say that I have swam in the pond and it’s not that bad. Harrelson was dismissive of the property itself, which is an accurate critique. Though there are very limited bits of Thoreau’s respect for nature that he could easily have appropriated.
In the proper lists of overwrought and worthless philosophers though, Thoreau and Emerson are in a class of their own, so I was glad to be in good company.
One question discussed the ways in which people are challenged to escape the modern monetarist systems since debt-slavery is baked into the tax code, and it can be so difficult to get away from it without incurring major penalties. Harrelson didn’t have any concrete answers here, other than to remind everyone that the sole lens of life can’t be one’s checkbook.
He recommended an agrarian lifestyle for its simplicity and joy, not for its ROI. I would have to agree with him, even on my own personal acre, I lose money on almost every little project I start, but even in its failure one finds some lesson, moments of pleasure, and such. You won’t get rich growing potatoes, and you may not even end up with any potatoes, but dirt and taters are cheap in the first place. You can do these things for less financial risk than one nice dinner, so why not simply enjoy them for what they are, and for the lovely time spent outside and engaged in a productive activity.
I have a few turkeys, and maybe they’ll end up on the dinner table, maybe the dog will kill them, maybe the kids will eventually knock the life out of them, but they’re fun to have around and a joy just to watch. I can’t explain it. Chickens are fun to watch too, but turkeys are five times the fun.
Harrelson also briefly discussed various back to the land movements, and how it is overlapping with smarter attitudes about the stewardship of nature, one’s personal health, and the connections between farming, healthy food, and healthy lives.
It was a vibrant evening surrounded by good people. It was a very nice time.
I had the presence of mind to take a picture to share with you all, to update you that Belloc’s legacy is as alive as ever.
And as I was sitting there I felt the visage of a very prideful and judgmental French-English ghost nearby staring at me… and smirking.