G.K. Chesterton continues to be a favourite. He died 76 years ago yet a new generation are discovering his writings. Many attending the upcoming Eucharistic Congress in Dublin will have heard of G.K. Chesterton. Perhaps the Father Brown stories have been the first introduction to Chesterton? Non- Catholics and even the non religious appreciate the writings of Chesterton. The title of this blog post is ‘What’s Wrong with the World’.
Our society is engaged in the same crisis Chesterton warned of in 1910. This recent referendum alone has highlighted the divide between the rich and the poor. There is agreement that wealth and property should be divided as widely as possible, and G.K. Chesterton advocated the distributist alternative to capitalism and socialism.
One well known quotation from Chesterton is found in this book. It is “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”
The widespread distribution of property and capital does indeed provide greater justice and freedom. Real social justice.
Reading the book, you encounter the characters of Hudge and Gudge. It is easy to see who each of these represent. The character of Jones is ‘the common man’.
“This man Jones has always desired the divinely ordinary things; he has married for love, he has chosen or built a small house that fits like a coat; he is ready to be great grandfather and a local [hero].”
Both Hudge and Gudge have conspired against Jones.
The book can be read here
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