DOCSLIB.ORG

Progress and Poverty

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Progress and Poverty Progress and Poverty © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Henry George Progress and Poverty Why there are recessions and poverty amid plenty— and what to do about it! Edited and abridged for modern readers by Bob Drake Robert Schalkenbach Foundation © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Progress and Poverty (modern edition) Edited and abridged for modern readers Author: Henry George Editor: Bob Drake Paperback ISBN: 978­0911312980 First Published 2006 Copyright © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation 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 © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Contents Publisher’s Foreword by Cliff Cobb Editor’s Preface by Bob Drake Author’s Preface to the Fourth Edition Introduction: The Problem of Poverty Amid Progress First Part: Wages and Capital Chapter 1 ­ Why Traditional Theories of Wages are Wrong Chapter 2 ­ Defining Terms Chapter 3 ­ Wages Are Produced By Labor, Not Drawn From Capital Chapter 4 ­ Workers Not Supported By Capital Chapter 5 ­ The True Functions of Capital Second Part: Population and Subsistence Chapter 6 ­ The Theory of Population According to Malthus Chapter 7 ­ Malthus vs. Facts Chapter 8 ­ Malthus vs. Analogies Chapter 9 ­ Malthusian Theory Disproved Third Part: The Laws of Distribution Chapter 10 ­ Necessary Relation of the Laws of Distribution Chapter 11 ­ The Law Of Rent Chapter 12 ­ The Cause of Interest Chapter 13 ­ False Interest Chapter 14 ­ The Law Of Interest Chapter 15 ­ The Law Of Wages Chapter 16 ­ Correlating The Laws of Distribution Chapter 17 ­ The Problem Explained Fourth Part: The Effect of Material Progress on the Distribution of Wealth Chapter 18 ­ Dynamic Forces Not Yet Explored © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Chapter 19 ­ Population Growth and Distribution of Wealth Chapter 20 ­ Technology and the Distribution of Wealth Chapter 21 ­ Speculation Fifth Part: The Problem Solved Chapter 22 ­ The Root Cause of Recessions Chapter 23 ­ The Persistence of Poverty­Despite Increasing Wealth Sixth Part: The Remedy Chapter 24 ­ Ineffective Remedies Chapter 25 ­ The True Remedy Seventh Part: Justice of the Remedy Chapter 26 ­ The Injustice of Private Property In Land Chapter 27 ­ The Enslavement of Labor Chapter 28 ­ Are Landowners Entitled to Compensation? Chapter 29 ­ History of Land as Private Property Chapter 30 ­ History of Property in Land in the US Eighth Part: Application of the Remedy Chapter 31 ­ Private Property in Land is Inconsistent with the Best Use of Land Chapter 32 ­ Securing Equal Rights To Land Chapter 33 ­ The Canons of Taxation Chapter 34 ­ Endorsements And Objections Ninth Part: Effects of the Remedy Chapter 35 ­ The Effect on Production Chapter 36 ­ The Effect on The Distribution of Wealth Chapter 37 ­ The Effect on Individuals and Classes Chapter 38 ­ Changes in Society Tenth Part: The Law of Human Progress Chapter 39 ­ The Cause of Human Progress © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Chapter 40 ­ Differences in Civilizations Chapter 41 ­ The Law of Human Progress Chapter 42 ­ How Modern Civilization May Decline Chapter 43­ The Central Truth Chapter 44 ­ Conclusion: The Individual Life Afterword: Who Was Henry George? by Agnes George de Mille © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Publisher’s Foreword We owe Bob Drake a debt of gratitude for this meticulous condensation and modernization of Henry George’s great work. The original version had an elegance that evoked a passion for social justice among millions of readers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, by the beginning of the twenty­first century, George’s complex prose stood in the way of that intention for large numbers of people. Now his ideas can once again be widely accessible. What were those ideas and why are they still important today? When Progress and Poverty was published in 1879, it was aimed in part at discrediting Social Darwinism, the idea that “survival of the fittest” should serve as a social philosophy. That ideology, developed by Herbert Spencer, William Graham Sumner, and others, provided the intellectual basis for 1) American imperialism against Mexico and the Philippines, 2) tax policies designed to reduce burdens on the rich by shifting them onto the poor and middle class, 3) the ascendancy of the concept of absolute property rights, unmitigated by any social claims on property, 4) welfare programs that treat the poor as failures and misfits, 5) racial segregation in education and housing, and 6) eugenics programs to promote the “superior” race. The intellectual defense of racism is in abeyance, but the economic and political instruments of domination have changed little. The renewed defense of taxing wages and consumer goods rather than property holdings, expanded intellectual property rights, and vast imperial ambitions are indications that Social Darwinism is back in full force. The revival of Social Darwinism continues to justify social disparities on the basis of natural superiority or fitness. Progress and Poverty, by contrast, reveals that those disparities derive from special privileges. Many economists and politicians foster the illusion that great fortunes and poverty stem from the presence or absence of individual skill and risk­taking. Henry George, by contrast, showed that the wealth gap occurs because a few people are allowed to monopolize natural opportunities and deny them to others. If we deprived social elites of those monopolies, the whole facade of their greater “fitness” would come tumbling down. George did not advocate equality of income, the forcible redistribution of wealth, or government © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation management of the economy. He simply believed that in a society not burdened by the demands of a privileged elite, a full and satisfying life would be attainable by everyone. Henry George is best remembered as an advocate of the “single tax” on location values. (I say “location” rather than “land” to avoid the common confusion that George was primarily interested in rural land. In fact his attention was focused on the tens of trillions of dollars worth of urban land that derives its value from location.) Yet, for George, wise tax policy was merely a vehicle to break the stranglehold of speculative ownership that effectively limits the opportunity to earn a decent living and participate in public life. Perhaps the image that best captures George’s ultimate intention is the final scene in a popular science fiction film, when the hero is able to restore the oxygen supply to the surface of a planet so that people will no longer be enslaved by the man holding the oxygen monopoly. Freeing people from the oppression of monopoly power in any form was Henry George’s great dream. Those who have conceived of George as being concerned only with tax policy should closely read the last third of Progress and Poverty, which reveals his larger vision of justice and genuine freedom. Progress and Poverty stands the test of time. It contains profound economic analysis, penetrating social philosophy, and a practical guide to public policy. Those who read it today will find in George’s work a great source of vision and inspiration. Cliff Cobb Robert Schalkenbach Foundation © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Editor’s Preface Those who first pick up this book are likely to share some concern about the problem of poverty; those who finish it may also find some cause for hope. For the great gift that Henry George gave the world was a systematic explanation—logical and consistent—of why wealth is not distributed fairly among those who produce it. But he did not stop there—he also gave us a simple yet far­reaching plan for a cure. It was, and still is, a plan for peace, prosperity, equality, and justice. Progress and Poverty is an enduring classic. It has been translated into dozens of languages; millions of copies have been distributed worldwide. Why, then, the need for a modern edition, and an abridged one at that? Simply put, Henry George, like many late­19th century authors, wrote in a style that modern readers may find unduly complex. As editor, I have endeavored to break long and intricate sentences into shorter ones, creating what I call a “thought­by­thought translation.” Furthermore, references to history, mythology, and literature that do not advance the central argument have been removed. Gender­balanced language has also been incorporated. However, I have not attempted to update financial statistics or technological examples. I prepared this edition in two distinct stages: modernization and condensation. I have sought to ensure that nothing of substance was left out. In modernizing the text, I reduced the average sentence length and increased the number of sentences. Sentences were shortened by about one­ third. For example, one passage showed a decline in average sentence length from twenty­eight words to nineteen words. By comparison, the average sentence in Time magazine was fifteen words in 1974, perhaps fewer today. By simplifying language, I reduced the number of syllables per hundred words by about ten percent, to about 1.7 syllables per word. The number of sentences per hundred words was increased by fifty percent. The combined effect of these changes transformed the text from one comprehensible to only a small fraction of the population to one that can be easily read by a high­school senior. An early test I performed showed that students were able to read the modernized text about twenty­five percent © Robert Schalkenbach Foundation faster than the original, even before condensation. Although no formal testing for comprehension was done, anecdotal reports indicate that comprehension was greatly improved.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Henry George's Labor Theory of Value: He Saw the Entrepreneurs and Workers As Employers of Capital and Land, and Not the Reverse Author(S): Robert J
    American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc. Henry George's Labor Theory of Value: He Saw the Entrepreneurs and Workers as Employers of Capital and Land, and Not the Reverse Author(s): Robert J. Rafalko Source: American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1989), pp. 311-320 Published by: American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3487369 . Accessed: 20/12/2013 16:34 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Economics and Sociology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 149.10.125.20 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 16:34:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions HenryGeorge's Labor Theory of Value: He Saw the Entrepreneursand Workersas Employersof Capitaland Land, and Not the Reverse By ROBERTJ. RAFALKO* ABSTRACT.Henry George, the 19th century American economistand socialphi- losopher, saw the problem of protecting the working peoples' wages and jobs one of distributive justice. He attacked as fallacious the idea that equality of opportunityto workwas a 'privilege "accordedto labor.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry George: the Theory of Distribution in Progress and Poverty
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Faculty Publications 2007-07-01 Henry George: The Theory of Distribution in Progress and Poverty Phillip J. Bryson [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub Part of the Economics Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Bryson, Phillip J., "Henry George: The Theory of Distribution in Progress and Poverty" (2007). Faculty Publications. 248. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/248 This Peer-Reviewed Article is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. HENRY GEORGE: THE THEORY OF DISTRIBUTION IN PROGRESS AND POVERTY Phillip J. Bryson, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA ABSTRACT The core of Henry George’s economic theory appeared in his most widely-read book, Progress and Poverty. On the basis of his dramatic “single tax” theory, his work became widely known and gained some avid followers who endeavored to base policy on it. But the work was also of value in George’s day and of interest in our day because of its economic content. George was not a part of the academic economics establishment of his day and his theory was of strictly classical methodology, but it still had much to commend it. A simple model to present his concepts in more modern form is developed. On the basis of the diagrammatic techniques involved, George’s theory of distribution is presented and evaluated. Keywords: Theory of distribution, classical economics, economic growth, wages fund, wages, interest, rent, poverty.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry George Antiprotectionist Giant of American Economics
    Economic Insights FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF DALLAS VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2 Henry George Antiprotectionist Giant of American Economics Americans are again confronted, both Today’s policy discussions are often domestically and internationally, with the argued as if the issue under considera- clash of protectionist and free trade senti- tion is unique to our time. Because we often forget—or never knew—the rel- ment. A deeply divided U.S. House just evant history, we can fail to see that barely passed the Central American Free almost every policy argument has his- Trade Agreement. Politicians who a few years torical precedent. This is certainly true back supported the North American Free of the hot-button issues of globalization Trade Agreement now adamantly oppose and protectionism. Although many be- CAFTA. Americans are torn between enjoying lieve them unique to our day, antiglob- alization—with its concomitant protec- the benefits of globalization, with its tionist sentiments—salts human history. increased consumer choices and lower Mercantilist doctrine, which is pro- prices, and worrying about the costs to the tectionist, dates to mid-17th century nation that some claim come with global free Europe. As international trade grew, so, trade. too, did the demand for government There is nothing new about this clash of intervention to protect domestic manu- Library, The New York Science, Industry & Business Library, Lenox and Tilden Foundations Astor, factures by discouraging imports and ideas, as this latest points Henry George Economic Insights subsidizing exports. Even nations com- out; they have been vigorously debated mitted to obtaining the benefits of free before, most notably during the late 19th trade have not been immune to mer- ing in California a decade after the century.
    [Show full text]
  • The Last Tax: Henry George and the Social Politics of Land Reform in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
    The Last Tax: Henry George and the Social Politics of Land Reform in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Department of History Michael Willrich, Advisor In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By Alexandra Wagner Lough August 2013 This dissertation, directed and approved by Alexandra Wagner Lough’s Committee, has been accepted and approved by the Faculty of Brandeis University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Malcolm Watson, Dean Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Committee: Michael Willrich, Department of History Mark Hulliung, Department of History Daniel T. Rodgers, Department of History, Princeton University Copyright 2013 Alexandra Wagner Lough Doctor of Philosophy Acknowledgments This project properly began in 2004 when I was an undergraduate at the University of Pacific in Stockton, California and decided to write a history thesis on Henry George. As such, it seems fitting to begin by thanking my two favorite professors at Pacific, Caroline Cox and Robert Benedetti. Their work inspired my own and their encouragement and advice led me to pursue graduate work in history at Brandeis University. I am forever grateful for their support. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been admitted into the Ph.D. program in American History at Brandeis. Not only have I received top-notch instruction from brilliant faculty, but I also have received generous funding. I want to extend my gratitude to Rose and Irving Crown and the Crown family for the fellowship that financed my graduate education.
    [Show full text]
  • Working Paper No. 40, the Rise and Fall of Georgist Economic Thinking
    Portland State University PDXScholar Working Papers in Economics Economics 12-15-2019 Working Paper No. 40, The Rise and Fall of Georgist Economic Thinking Justin Pilarski Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/econ_workingpapers Part of the Economic History Commons, and the Economic Theory Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Citation Details Pilarski, Justin "The Rise and Fall of Georgist Economic Thinking, Working Paper No. 40", Portland State University Economics Working Papers. 40. (15 December 2019) i + 16 pages. This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Working Papers in Economics by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. The Rise and Fall of Georgist Economic Thinking Working Paper No. 40 Authored by: Justin Pilarski A Contribution to the Working Papers of the Department of Economics, Portland State University Submitted for: EC456 “American Economic History” 15 December 2019; i + 16 pages Prepared for Professor John Hall Abstract: This inquiry seeks to establish that Henry George’s writings advanced a distinct theory of political economy that benefited from a meteoric rise in popularity followed by a fall to irrelevance with the turn of the 20th century. During the depression decade of the 1870s, the efficacy of the laissez-faire economic system came into question, during this same timeframe neoclassical economics supplanted classical political economy. This inquiry considers both of George’s key works: Progress and Poverty [1879] and The Science of Political Economy [1898], establishing the distinct components of Georgist economic thought.
    [Show full text]
  • Marshall: a Professional Economist Guards the Purity of His Discipline
    4 Marshall: A Professional Economist Guards the Purity of His Discipline / BY ROBERT F. HEBERT I. Background In 1883 the name of Henry George was more famiMar on both sides of the Atlantic than that of Alfred Marshall. Marshall was to achieve lasting recognition a decade later as the foremost British economist of his day, but George's Progress and Poverty had already achieved an unusual measure of success for a work in political economy. Sales of that volume reached one hundred thousand in the British Isles a few years after its appearance in a separate English edition. This popularity (in a period when "best sellers"- were less well received than now) was undoubtedly one measure of the British sentiment for land reform—a sentiment that had been carefully nurtured for several decades, especially by John Stuart Mill and Alfred R. Wallace. Additional sympathy for George and his ideas was also stirred by his controversial arrests in Ireland in 1882.' Most economists of the late nineteenth century paid little attention to the lively subject of land reform, but Marshall was an exception. Intellectually, he was akin to John Stuart Mill—both were simultaneously attracted and repelled by socialist doctrine. Marshall admitted a youthful "tendency to socialism," which he later rejected as unrealistic and perverse in its effect on economic incentives and human character .2 His early writings, however, clearly identify him as a champion of the working class. Marshall cultivated this reputation in his correspondence, and he continued to take socialism seriously, even after his "flirtation" with it ended. In the winter of 1883 Marshall gave a series of public lectures at Bristol on "Henry George's subject of Progress and Poverty." These lectures have only recently become accessible to American readers.' In retrospect they appear to be Marshall's first deliberate attempt to renounce his socialist "ties," such as they were.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pope and Henry George: Pope Leo XIII Compared with Henry George, on the Ownership of Land and Other Natural Resources
    Solidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics Volume 8 Issue 2 Article 2 2018 The Pope and Henry George: Pope Leo XIII compared with Henry George, on the ownership of land and other natural resources. A possible rapproachement? John Pullen uni, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/solidarity ISSN: 1839-0366 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969 WARNING This material has been copied and communicated to you by or on behalf of the University of Notre Dame Australia pursuant to part VB of the Copyright Act 1969 (the Act). The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further copying or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. Do not remove this notice. Recommended Citation Pullen, John (2018) "The Pope and Henry George: Pope Leo XIII compared with Henry George, on the ownership of land and other natural resources. A possible rapproachement?," Solidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics: Vol. 8 : Iss. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/solidarity/vol8/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you by ResearchOnline@ND. It has been accepted for inclusion in Solidarity: The Journal of Catholic Social Thought and Secular Ethics by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@ND. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Pope and Henry George: Pope Leo XIII compared with Henry George, on the ownership of land and other natural resources. A possible rapproachement? Abstract The encyclical, Rerum Novarum, issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 was interpreted by Henry George as a criticism of the views he had expressed in Progress and Poverty, 1879, and other writings.
    [Show full text]
  • History, Achievements and Prospects Nathaniel Lichfield And
    Land Value Taxation in Britain for the Benefit of the Community: History, Achievements and Prospects Nathaniel Lichfield and Owen Connellan 1997 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Working Paper The findings and conclusions of this paper are not subject to detailed review and do not necessarily reflect the official views and policies of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. After printing your initial complimentary copy, please do not reproduce this paper in any form without permission of the authors. Contact the authors directly with all questions or requests for permission. Lincoln Institute Product Code: WP98NL1 Abstract This report examines the economic and social rationales and century-old experience in Britain for taxing land (as distinct from land and buildings in combination) for the benefit of the community. In practice the experience shows attempts under two distinct kinds of legislation. The first relates to proposals for revenue raising, mainly for local government purposes; and the second to recoupment of community betterment and infrastructure funding as part of development and planning policy. Part I deals with the first theme of land value taxation. Following an introduction relating to the principles of general taxation comes a statement on the current rating and taxation system in Britain relating to landed property. Then follows an exploration of economic theory and principles of land taxation as such, supported by Appendix (I.2) to which is added the distinctive theory of Henry George on the single tax, and his personal impact in Britain. Then follows a history of attempts in land value taxation in Britain, which is supported by Appendix (I.1), concluding with an evaluation of past proposals.
    [Show full text]
  • Significant Paragraphs from Progress and Poverty by Henry George with an Appreciation by John Dewey Harry Gunnison Brown's Prefa
    Significant Paragraphs from Progress and Poverty by Henry George with An Appreciation by John Dewey Harry Gunnison Brown's Preface An Appreciation of Henry George: John Dewey 3 Selections from Progress and Poverty 1. The Problem 4 2. Poverty Not Due to Over-Population 7 3. Land Rent Grows as Community Develops 8 4. Land Speculation Causes Reduced Wages 12 5. The Basic Cause of Poverty 14 6. The Remedy 17 7. Simplicity of Method of Introducing Remedy 19 8. Why a Land-Value Tax is bettter than an Equal Tax on All Property 20 9. Alleged Difficulty of Distinguishing Land from Improvements 20 10. Effect of Remedy upon Wealth Production 21 11. Effect of Remedy upon the Sharing of Wealth 24 12. Effect of Remedy upon Various Economic Classes 25 13. Effect of Remedy upon Social Ideals 27 14. Liberty, and Equality of Opportunity 30 15. The Cross of a New Crusade 33 Princeton historian Eric F. Goldman, author of Rendezvous with Destiny, a book on politics of the Progressive era, wrote this in tribute to Progress & Poverty: For some years prior to 1952 I was working on a history of American reform and over and over again my research ran into this fact: an enormous number of men and women, strikingly different people, men and women who were to lead 20th century America in a dozen fields of humane activity, wrote or told someone that their whole thinking had been redirected by reading Progress and Poverty in their formative years. In this respect no other book came anywhere near comparable influence, and I would like to add this word of tribute to a volume which magically catalyzed the best yearnings of our fathers and grandfathers.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry George and the Reconstruction of Capitalism by Dr
    Henry George and the Reconstruction of Capitalism by Dr. Robert V. Andelson Dr. Robert V. Andelson (1931-2003) was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Auburn University, and Distinguished Research Fellow, American Institute for Economic Research. This essay was first published in booklet form in 1994 by the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (New York), American Institute for Economic Research (Great Barrington, Massachusetts), and Public Revenue Education Council (Saint Louis). HENRY GEORGE AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF CAPITALISM It would require less than the fingers of the two hands to enumerate those who, from Plato down, rank with Henry George among the world’s social philosophers… [He is] certainly the greatest that this country has produced. No man … has the right to regard himself as an educated man in social thought unless he has some first hand acquaintance with the theoretical contribution of this great American thinker. JOHN DEWEY With the fall of the Iron Curtain, people all over the world seem to be searching for a “Middle Way.” Except in North Korea and Cuba, doctrinaire Marxism has been repudiated virtually everywhere, even by the Left. Socialism has become passé. Its adherents are no longer riding the crest of the wave of the future. Even the most energetic apostle of federal meddling, John Kenneth Galbraith, for example, eschew the Socialist label. Yet, on the other hand, the free market economists of the classical period would scarcely recognize Capitalism as we know it in America today. Such luminaries of industry and finance as Lee Iacocca and Felix Rohatyn advocate a measure of government intervention that would have seemed entirely insupportable to Cobden or Ricardo.
    [Show full text]
  • Land Reform and Popular Political Economy in Victorian Britain
    Donald Winch Land Reform and Popular Political Economy in Victorian Britain Paper for a conference on ‘Worlds of Political Economy’ held at Churchill College, Cambridge, 6-7 September, 2002 I ‘In my lectures upon Political Economy about the country, I have found in almost every centre a certain little knot of men of the lower-middle or upper-working class, men of grit and character, largely self-educated, keen citizens, mostly nonconformists in religion, to whom Land Nationalisation, taxation of unearned increment, or other radical reforms of land tenure, are doctrines resting upon a plain moral sanction. These free-trading Radical dissenters regard common ownership and equal access to the land as a “natural right”, essential to individual freedom.’ J. A. Hobson’s description of the opinions of the kind of men he encountered in his university extension classes in the English provinces in the 1880s and 90s accords with everything we know about the revival of the movement for land reform during this period. For this was when Henry George’s Progress and Poverty (1879) was selling 100,000 copies, when George was addressing large audiences, and when Land Restoration Leagues, based on his ‘single tax’ proposals, were being formed throughout Britain. In 1897 Hobson thought that George had ‘exercised a more directly powerful formative and educative influence over English radicalism of the last fifteen years than any other man’.1 He acknowledged that George, through personal magnetism and with the aid of a drastically over-simplified economic message, was tapping into a ‘real, deep-grounded passion or conviction’, a ‘genuine need or aspiration’.
    [Show full text]
  • Libertarianism and Georgism on Private Property
    Libertarianism and Georgism on Private Property Emil Lindqvist Handledare: Madeleine Hayenhjelm Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier Umeå Universitet HT 2015 2 Table of Content Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Libertarianism .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Overview of Locke ............................................................................................................................... 3 Locke and Property Forfeiture ............................................................................................................ 4 Overview of Nozick .............................................................................................................................. 5 Nozick and the Lockean Proviso .......................................................................................................... 7 Nozick and Natural Rights ................................................................................................................... 8 The Tragedy of the Commons ............................................................................................................. 9 Kymlicka’s Criticism of the Proviso ...................................................................................................... 9 Ben and Amy ......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]