The Guild State: Its Principles and Possibilities

by G.R.S. Taylor, Dr. Roger McCain (Foreword), Anthony Cooney (Introduction)

The medieval guild is deconstructed into political theory and social commentary in this contemporary look at one of the most important social institutions of the Middle Ages. Essential principles and values underlying the guild system are discussed with a view toward applying them to current societal ills such as unemployment, absentee corporate ownership, and employee disenfranchisement. The system, adapted to the needs and circumstances of the 21st century, is discussed as a serious economic alternative to the alleged disasters of capitalism and socialism; indeed, this book proposes it to be the only useful system because of its revolutionary and successful past.

Genres: Economics, Catholic

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[graceofgod]

There was a very brief time period where IHS Press, in the mid-2000s, was publishing (or republishing, I should say) works that I can only call "libertarian socialism for Catholic traditionalists." Fun read. Though one wonders why we need to call it "guild socialism" since in other places what is being described is a sort of revolutionary syndicalism. I suppose the difference is that these guys based themselves off of a Christian worldview, etc. Bears a lot of similarity to the sort of generic non-communist radical "self-management" or "autogestion" or even "assemblyist" tendencies that we see in Europe and elsewhere in the 1960s.