The November/December 2023 issue of Gilbert, the magazine of the Society of G. K. Chesterton,contains a review by Chuck Chalberg of The Political Economy of Distributism by Alexander William Salter.
Chalberg concludes the review with, "All three (Chesterton, Belloc, and Ropke), plus Salter himself, seem to agree that politics can never be the solution, much less the ultimate answer. And yet, once again Salter wiggles for room with a nod in the direction of something called the American Solidarity party. Created in 2011, its platform is 'not shy about its debt to distributism.' It's also more than a few votes shy of relevance, totaling only 42,305 for its presidential candidate in 2020. Thank goodness we will always have Chesterton and Belloc, as well as the Alexander Salters of Texas Tech and elsewhere, to keep steering us in the right direction."
That mention of the American Solidarity party in a way that seems dismissive of it stopped me short. Chalberg may not have intended to be dismissive, but still, he did declare the party "a few votes shy of relevance."
Ironically, his review is published in the magazine of a society that I last heard had just 2,000 members. Surely he would not suggest the Society is not relevant because of the small number of members?
The Chesterton Society is small, but it would seem to be a natural ally of a party that espouses many Chestertonian and Christian ideals, including distributist economic policies.
He also refers to the party in a way that suggests he really doesn't know much about it.
Yes, the party garnered "just" 42,305 votes for President in 2020. But that was only the second presidential election in which the party ran a candidate. In 2016, the first time it ran a candidate, it received 6,697 votes. So from 2015 to 2020 a six-fold increase. What might happen in 2024 with an actively campaigning candidate, Peter Sonski?
Moreover, in 2016, the party was listed on only one ballot; the other votes were by write-in. In 2020, the party was listed on nine ballots. And in 2024?
Perhaps this is a party Chestertonians should investigate. Given its platform, they just might find it relevant.
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