In What’s Wrong with the World , G. K. Chesterton criticizes contemporary societal positions on property, imperialism, education, and home life. He believed that both unfettered capitalism and socialism erode society, breaking up the family and keeping the poor in poverty. He advocates for a broader distribution of both property and political power, a philosophy that became known as “Distributism,” and of which Chesterton and his friend Hilaire Belloc became well-known advocates.

While this book was written in 1910, many of the issues Chesterton addresses, like home ownership, public education, and the erosion of democracy, remain important social issues in the modern day.