The Land Question and Related Writings Viewpoint and Counterviewpoint on the Need for Land Reform Robert Schalkenbach Foundation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Table of Contents Preface to the 1982 Edition by Thomas A. Larkin ............. VII and How It Alone Can Be Settled ................................. 1 I. Unpalatable Truth ............................................................. 3 II. Distress and Famine ....................................................... 10 III. A Universal Question ................................................... 16 IV. Proposed Remedies ....................................................... 24 V. Whose Land Is It? ........................................................... 29 VI. Landlords’ Right Is Labor’s Wrong .............................. 32 VII. The Great-Great Grandson of Captain Kidd ............. 36 VIII. The Only Way, The Easy Way ................................... 45 IX. Principle the Best Policy ............................................... 49 X. Appeals to Animosity ..................................................... 53 XI. How to Win .................................................................. 57 XII. In the United States .................................................... 65 XIII. A Little Island or a Little World ................................ 68 XIV. The Civilization that is Possible ................................. 72 XV. The Civilization That Is ............................................... 78 XVI. True Conservatism ..................................................... 88 XVII In Hoc Signo Vinces ......................................................... 97 between the Duke of Argyll and Henry George .........101 I. The Prophet of San Francisco by the Duke of Argyll ........ 103 II. The “Reduction to Iniquity” by Henry George ............... 135 On the Condition of Labor ........................................ 167 An Open Letter to Pope Leo XIII by Henry George ........ 209 abolitionists, persecution of 41 aerial navigation, prospects for agricultural laborer, compared anacondas, gorging of 290 Asia, compared to Europe in Associated Press monopoly 62 Atlantic Monthly 8 Becket, Thomas a 282 Black Hawk 143 Booth, Charles, heirarchy of Buckle, Henry Thomas 7–8 Cain and Abel 212 its claim to territory 111 right of ownership of does not cause oppression Captain Kidd 37–44 Carmelites 261 Catholic religious orders, com legal restrictions imposed on Ceylon, ownership of fruits cannot cure poverty 295 evil, if it leads to denying child labor 144 Choctaw Nation 79 hypocrisy of 85 Civil War, United States 122 ROBERT SCHALKENBACH FOUNDATION New York City 2020 Henry George The Land Question and related writings Viewpoint and Counterviewpoint on the need for land reform Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Author: Henry George Book ISBN: 978-1-952489-08-2 First Published 1953 Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Official Publishers of the works of Henry George Cover Image: Wikimedia Commons, Rocinha Favela Brazil Slums The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (RSF) is a private operating foundation, founded in 1925, to promote public awareness of the social philosophy and economic reforms advocated by famed 19th century thinker and activist, Henry George. Today, RSF remains true to its founding doctrine, and through efforts focused on education, communities, outreach, and publishing, works to create a world in which all people are afforded the basic necessities of life and the natural world is protected for generations to come. Robert Schalkenbach Foundation [email protected] www.schalkenbach.org Contents Preface to the 1982 Edition by Thomas A. Larkin ............. VII The Land Question: What It Involves, and How It Alone Can Be Settled ................................. 1 I. Unpalatable Truth ............................................................. 3 II. Distress and Famine ....................................................... 10 III. A Universal Question ................................................... 16 IV. Proposed Remedies ....................................................... 24 V. Whose Land Is It? ........................................................... 29 VI. Landlords’ Right Is Labor’s Wrong .............................. 32 VII. The Great-Great Grandson of Captain Kidd ............. 36 VIII. The Only Way, The Easy Way ................................... 45 IX. Principle the Best Policy ............................................... 49 X. Appeals to Animosity ..................................................... 53 XI. How to Win .................................................................. 57 XII. In the United States .................................................... 65 XIII. A Little Island or a Little World ................................ 68 XIV. The Civilization that is Possible ................................. 72 XV. The Civilization That Is ............................................... 78 XVI. True Conservatism ..................................................... 88 XVII In Hoc Signo Vinces ......................................................... 97 Property in Land: A Passage-at-Arms between the Duke of Argyll and Henry George .........101 I. The Prophet of San Francisco by the Duke of Argyll ........ 103 II. The “Reduction to Iniquity” by Henry George ............... 135 Encyclical Letter of Pope Leo XIII On the Condition of Labor ........................................ 167 The Condition of Labor: An Open Letter to Pope Leo XIII by Henry George ........ 209 Index .................................................................................. 308 VII Preface to the 1982 Edition by Thomas A. Larkin I T HAS BEEN SAID that Henry George left a threefold economic legacy: political, intellectual and moral. Nowhere is this clearer than in this volume which brings together three famous George works: The Land Question, first published in 1881 under the title The Irish Land Question; Property in Land, a debate between George and the Duke of Argyll published originally in 1884 in the British periodical Nineteenth Century; and An Open Letter to Pope Leo XIII, a response to the Pope’s 1891 Encyclical Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor). In The Land Question George seized upon the outrage of the Irish people against absentee landlords as a concrete example of the misery caused by land abuse to point up worldwide misappropriation of land. His son has rightly noted that “in this brief work he gave the first striking evidence of a high order of practical ability, showing that, besides the genius to formulate a philosophy, he had the wisdom to avail himself of passing events to apply it.” While he urged the Irish to insist upon “The principle that the land of Ireland belongs of right to the whole people of Ireland,” and, the principle being accepted, to collect the rent and “divide it equally, or, what amounts to the same thing, to apply it to purposes of common benefit,” his long-range objective was to convince the world to recognize his fundamental principle that land belongs to the people — or suffer VIII a proliferation of the Irish problem in a multitude of places. Property in Land is a brilliant dispute between two highly intelligent men. The Duke of Argyll, titular chief of the Scottish Campbell Clan whose son was married to a daughter of Queen Victoria, was a philosopher of note. Henry George had read his The Reign of Law and in admiration sent him a copy of Progress and Poverty. The Duke’s courteous acknowledgment left George wholly unprepared for the nobleman’s caustic attack on the book, derisively entitled “The Prophet of San Francisco,” in the pages of Nineteenth Century. George’s first reaction was to ignore the attack as more abusive than substantial, but when members of the Scottish Land Restoration League pointed out that the Duke’s prominence would insure wide interest in a debate that must of necessity bring George’s philosophy and the entire land question before the people, he took up his pen. Nineteenth Century published George’s reply, “The Reduction to Iniquity,” and his delighted followers immediately issued a pamphlet with the Duke’s attack and George’s answer which they entitled The Peer and the Prophet. The pamphlet later appeared in the United States under the title Property in Land. Seven years later Pope Leo XIII’s landmark encyclical letter Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Labor) evoked a response of a different order. George and many of his followers thought that the encyclical condemned his teaching, although some of his Catholic friends disagreed, and he decided to reply, not to debate the Pope, but to define his own views. “What I have really aimed at,” he informed his son, “is to make a clear, brief explanation of our principles, to show their religious character, and to draw a line between us and the socialists. I have written for such men as Cardinal Manning, General Booth and religious-minded men of all creeds.” The three George works in this volume, then, explore IX three aspects of his thought. The Land Question is a tract on political reform and its implementation, the Argyll debate deals with the intellectual problems of freedom and the dignity of the individual, and the letter to Leo XIII stresses George’s concern with religious and moral values. Taken together, these works reinforce the belief of many of his admirers that the teaching of Henry George is indeed a philosophy of freedom. Thomas A. Larkin was a dedicated student of the Georgist philosophy, and a businessman who made a successful career as a Wall Street broker and financial advisor. He served on numerous civic and charitable boards. X Publisher’s Note The original edition of this book included