Misplaced Pages

#468531

104-643: The Scottish Land Restoration League was a Georgist political party. In the 1880s, enclosure was still in process in the Scottish Highlands , and resistance to it often received support from radicals around Britain and Ireland. Branches of the Irish Land League , founded in 1879 to campaign against landlordism , had been set up in Scotland, but the League was wound up in 1883. In 1884, Henry George toured

208-651: A land value tax (LVT). Some modern proponents are dissatisfied with the name Georgist . While Henry George was well known throughout his life, he has been largely forgotten by the public and the idea of a single tax of land predates him. Some now prefer the term geoism , with geo (from Greek γῆ gē "earth, land") being the first compound of the name George < (Gr.) Geōrgios < geōrgos "farmer" or geōrgia "agriculture, farming" < gē + ergon "work" deliberately ambiguous. The terms Earth Sharing , geonomics and geolibertarianism are also used by some Georgists. These terms represent

312-456: A single tax on land values . George defines land as "all natural materials, forces, and opportunities", as everything "that is freely supplied by nature". George's primary fiscal tool was a land value tax on the annual value of land held as private property. It would be high enough to end other taxes, especially upon labor and production, to provide limitless beneficial public investment in services such as transportation, since public investment

416-507: A 100% Georgist tax would destroy the incentive to search for natural resources and discover optimal locations for businesses, as the additional profits that would result from such discoveries would lead to a corresponding increase in the unimproved value of the land, and so be taxed away. Progress and Poverty Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy

520-417: A Georgist club in that city established in 1890. Years later, in his capacity as a city alderman, he was selected to serve as Houston Tax Commissioner, and promulgated a "Houston Plan of Taxation" in 1912. Improvements to land and merchants' inventories were taxed at 25 percent of the appraised value, unimproved land was taxed at 70 percent of appraisal, and personal property was exempt. This was calculated using

624-410: A balloon or down a hole in the ground; and without doing one stroke of work, without adding one iota of wealth to the community, in ten years you will be rich! In the new city you may have a luxurious mansion, but among its public buildings will be an almshouse. An often-cited passage from Progress and Poverty is "The Unbound Savannah", in which George discusses how the building of a community increases

728-419: A conservation strategy, but they emphasize different aspects. Conservation is the central issue of ecology, whereas economic rent is the central issue of geoism. Ecological economists might price pollution fines more conservatively to prevent inherently unquantifiable damage to the environment, whereas Georgists might emphasize mediation between conflicting interests and human rights . Geolibertarianism ,

832-460: A country where land titles have already been granted. Georgists have observed that privately created wealth is socialized via the tax system (e.g., through income and sales tax ), while socially created wealth in land values are privatized in the price of land titles and bank mortgages. The opposite would be the case if land rents replaced taxes on labor as the main source of public revenue ; socially created wealth would become available for use by

936-586: A difference of emphasis and sometimes real differences about how land rent should be spent ( citizen's dividend or just replacing other taxes), but they all agree that land rent should be recovered from its private recipients. Compulsory fines and fees related to land rents are the most common Georgist policies, but some geoists prefer voluntary value capture systems that rely on methods such as non-compulsory or self-assessed location value fees, community land trusts and purchasing land value covenants . Some geoists believe that partially compensating landowners

1040-406: A high land value tax would cause people "to contribute to the public, not in proportion to what they produce ... but in proportion to the value of natural [common] opportunities that they hold [monopolize]". He went on to explain that "by taking for public use that value which attaches to land by reason of the growth and improvement of the community", it would, "make the holding of land unprofitable to

1144-428: A land value tax would cause the purchase price of land to decrease. George did not believe landowners should be compensated and described the issue as being analogous to compensation for former slave owners. Other geoists disagree on the question of compensation; some advocate complete compensation while others endorse only enough compensation required to achieve Georgist reforms. Some geoists advocate compensation only for

SECTION 10

#1732852276469

1248-573: A land-value tax, although Georgists endorsed multiple forms of rent capture (e.g. seigniorage ) as legitimate. The term Georgism was invented later, and some prefer the term geoism as more generic. Henry George is best known for popularizing the argument that government should be funded by a tax on land rent rather than taxes on labor . George believed that although scientific experiments could not be performed in political economy, theories could be tested by comparing different societies with different conditions and by thought experiments about

1352-550: A land-value tax. Following the 2008 Recession and city's 2013 bankruptcy , speculators bought cheap property, expecting to profit from the city's recovery. This plan to shift the cost of municipal services to owners of empty land, while exempting community gardens and parks, will require approval from the Michigan Legislature and Detroit City Council before being added as a ballot measure for Detroit residents. Various organizations still exist that continue to promote

1456-531: A larger impact around the world, in places such as Denmark , the United Kingdom , Australia , and New Zealand , where George's influence was enormous. Contemporary sources and historians claim that in the United Kingdom, a vast majority of both socialist and classical liberal activists could trace their ideological development to Henry George. George's popularity was more than a passing phase; even by 1906,

1560-505: A market-oriented branch of Geoism, tends to take a direct stance against what it perceives as burdensome regulation and would like to see auctioned pollution quotas or taxes replace most command and control regulation . Since ecologists are primarily concerned with conservation, they tend to emphasize less the issue of equitably distributing scarcity/pollution rents , whereas Georgists insist that unearned income not accrue to those who hold title to natural assets and pollution privilege. To

1664-419: A means of raising public revenue is also a progressive tax tending to reduce economic inequality , since it applies entirely to ownership of valuable land, which is correlated with income, and there is generally no means by which landlords can shift the tax burden onto tenants or laborers. Landlords are unable to pass the tax on to tenants because the supply and demand of rented land is unchanged. Because

1768-430: A modern Georgist severance tax . Other contemporaries such as Austrian economist Frank Fetter and neoclassical economist John Bates Clark argued that it was impractical to maintain the traditional distinction between land and capital and used this as a basis to attack Georgism. Mark Blaug , a specialist in the history of economic thought, credits Fetter and Clark with influencing mainstream economists to abandon

1872-511: A negative dead-weight loss that boosts productivity. Because land value tax would apply to foreign land speculators, the Australian Treasury estimated that land value tax was unique in having a negative marginal excess burden, meaning that it would increase long-run living standards. It was Adam Smith who first noted the efficiency and distributional properties of a land value tax in his book The Wealth of Nations . Ground-rents are

1976-515: A net loss due to a shift of taxation to land value; most taxpayers would gain from the replacement of other taxes with a tax on land value. Historically, those who advocated for taxes on rent tax only great enough to replace other taxes were known as endorsers of single tax limited . Most early advocacy groups described themselves as single taxers and George reluctantly accepted the single tax as an accurate name for his main political goal—the repeal of all unjust or inefficient taxes, to be replaced with

2080-442: A part of this revenue should be taken from him in order to defray the expenses of the state, no discouragement will thereby be given to any sort of industry. The annual produce of the land and labour of the society, the real wealth and revenue of the great body of the people, might be the same after such a tax as before. Ground-rents and the ordinary rent of land are, therefore, perhaps, the species of revenue which can best bear to have

2184-405: A particular spot of ground at a greater or smaller expense. In every country the greatest number of rich competitors is in the capital, and it is there accordingly that the highest ground-rents are always to be found. As the wealth of those competitors would in no respect be increased by a tax upon ground-rents, they would not probably be disposed to pay more for the use of the ground. Whether the tax

SECTION 20

#1732852276469

2288-476: A peculiar tax imposed upon them. ... Nothing can be more reasonable than that a fund which owes its existence to the good government of the state should be taxed peculiarly, or should contribute something more than the greater part of other funds, towards the support of that government. Benjamin Franklin and Winston Churchill made similar distributional and efficiency arguments for taxing land rents. They noted that

2392-554: A proper social function, which should be controlled and managed by and for the whole people concerned." Georgists were divided by this question of natural monopolies and often favored public ownership only of the rents from common rights-of-way , rather than public ownership of utility companies themselves. The early conservationism of the Progressive Era was inspired partly by Henry George , and his influence extended for decades afterward. Some ecological economists still support

2496-682: A public levy on land value does not cause economic inefficiency , unlike other taxes. A land value tax also has progressive tax effects. Advocates of land value taxes argue that they reduce economic inequality , increase economic efficiency, remove incentives to under-utilize urban land, and reduce property speculation . Georgist ideas were popular and influential during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Political parties, institutions, and communities were founded on Georgist principles during that time. Early devotees of George's economic philosophy were often termed Single Taxers for their political goal of raising public revenue mainly or only from

2600-423: A still more proper subject of taxation than the rent of houses. A tax upon ground-rents would not raise the rents of houses. It would fall altogether upon the owner of the ground-rent, who acts always as a monopolist, and exacts the greatest rent which can be got for the use of his ground. More or less can be got for it according as the competitors happen to be richer or poorer, or can afford to gratify their fancy for

2704-502: A survey of British parliamentarians revealed that the American author's writing was more popular than Walter Scott , John Stuart Mill , and William Shakespeare . In 1933, John Dewey estimated that Progress and Poverty "had a wider distribution than almost all other books on political economy put together." Progress and Poverty seeks to explain why poverty exists notwithstanding widespread advances in technology and even where there

2808-416: A tendency toward boom-and-bust cycles. According to George, people justly own what they create, but natural opportunities and land belong equally to all. The tax upon land values is, therefore, the most just and equal of all taxes. It falls only upon those who receive from society a peculiar and valuable benefit, and upon them in proportion to the benefit they receive. It is the taking by the community, for

2912-493: A three or four percent tax on land values would fit this condition. After implementing land taxes, governments would purchase future land values at discounted prices and take ownership after 100 years. Marshall asserted that this plan, which he strongly supported, would end the need for a tax collection department of government. For newly formed countries where land was not already private, Marshall advocated implementing George's economic proposal immediately. Karl Marx considered

3016-460: Is "the greatest economic treatise ever written". After reading selections of Progress and Poverty , Helen Keller wrote of finding "in Henry George's philosophy a rare beauty and power of inspiration, and a splendid faith in the essential nobility of human nature". Father Edward McGlynn , one of the most prominent and controversial Catholic priests of the time, was quoted as saying, "That book

3120-618: Is (as more people value that land). The tendency of speculators to increase the price of land faster than wealth can be produced to pay has the result of lowering the amount of wealth left over for labor to claim in wages, and finally leads to the collapse of enterprises at the margin, with a ripple effect that becomes a serious business depression entailing widespread unemployment, foreclosures, etc. In Progress and Poverty , George examines various proposed strategies to prevent business depressions, unemployment and poverty , but finds them unsatisfactory. As an alternative he proposes his own solution:

3224-399: Is a concentration of great wealth such as in cities. George saw how technological and social advances (including education and public services) increased the value of land (natural resources, urban locations, etc.) and, thus, the amount of wealth that can be demanded by the owners of land from those who need the use of land. In other words: the better the public services, the higher the rent

Scottish Land Restoration League - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-427: Is a politically expedient compromise necessary for achieving reform. For similar reasons, others propose capturing only future land value increases, instead of all land rent. Some libertarians and minarchists take the position that limited social spending should be financed using Georgist concepts of rent value capture , but that not all land rent should be captured. Today, this relatively conservative adaptation

3432-482: Is an 1879 book by social theorist and economist Henry George . It is a treatise on the questions of why poverty accompanies economic and technological progress and why economies exhibit a tendency toward cyclical boom and bust . George uses history and deductive logic to argue for a radical solution focusing on the capture of economic rent from natural resource and land titles. Progress and Poverty , George's first book, sold several million copies, becoming one of

3536-424: Is due to those investments classed as land values and natural monopolies and to competitive industries aided by such monopolies", and that "tax reform should seek to remove all burdens from capital and labour and impose them on monopolies." However, he criticized Georgists for failing to see that Henry George's anti-monopoly ideas must be implemented with a variety of policy tools. Commons wrote, "Trees do not grow into

3640-411: Is everything that exists in nature independent of human activity. George explicitly included climate, soil, waterways, mineral deposits, laws/forces of nature, public ways, forests, oceans, air, and solar energy in the category of land. While the philosophy of Georgism does not say anything definitive about specific policy interventions needed to address problems posed by various sources of economic rent,

3744-626: Is inherently limited in supply can generate economic rent, but the classical and most significant example of land monopoly involves the extraction of common ground rent from valuable urban locations. Georgists argue that taxing economic rent is efficient , fair, and equitable . The main Georgist policy recommendation is a tax assessed on land value, arguing that revenues from a land value tax (LVT) can be used to reduce or eliminate existing taxes (such as on income , trade , or purchases ) that are unfair and inefficient. Some Georgists also advocate for

3848-660: Is not so much a book as an event. The life and thought of no one capable of understanding it can be quite the same after reading it", and even that reading it would prevent such a person, who also "prized justice or common honesty", from being able to ever again "dine or sleep or read or work in peace". Many famous figures with diverse ideologies, such as George Bernard Shaw , Friedrich Hayek , H. G. Wells , and Leo Tolstoy , mark their first encounters with Progress and Poverty as literally life-changing experiences. John Haynes Holmes wrote, "My reading of Henry George's immortal masterpiece marked an epoch in my life. All my thought upon

3952-464: Is plausible but was more likely to be true during George's time than now. An early criticism of Georgism was that it would generate too much public revenue and result in unwanted growth of government, but later critics argued that it would not generate enough income to cover government spending. Joseph Schumpeter concluded his analysis of Georgism by stating that, "It is not economically unsound, except that it involves an unwarranted optimism concerning

4056-517: Is reflected in land value, and to provide social services such as a basic income . George argued that a land value tax would give landowners an incentive to use well located land in a productive way, thereby increasing demand for labor and creating wealth. This shift in the bargaining balance between resource owners and laborers would raise the general level of wages and ensure no one need suffer poverty. A land value tax would, among other things, also end urban sprawl , tenant farming, homelessness , and

4160-465: Is seen by some, including other opponents of Georgism, as relying on false assumptions and flawed reasoning. Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek credited early enthusiasm for Henry George with developing his interest in economics. Later, Hayek said that the theory of Georgism would be very strong if assessment challenges did not result in unfair outcomes, but he believed that they would. Economists Bryan Caplan and Zachary Gochenour have argued that

4264-402: Is that everything would be all right if ground rent were paid to the state." Richard T. Ely agreed with the economic arguments for Georgism but believed that correcting the problem the way Henry George wanted, without compensation, was unjust to existing landowners. In explaining his position, Ely wrote, "If we have all made a mistake, should one party to the transaction alone bear the cost of

Scottish Land Restoration League - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-431: Is the work of a sage, of a seer, of a philosopher, of a poet. It is not merely political philosophy. It is a poem; it is a prophecy; it is a prayer." Among many famous people who asserted that it was impossible to refute George on the land question were Winston Churchill , Leo Tolstoy , John Dewey , and Bertrand Russell . Tolstoy and Dewey, especially, dedicated much of their lives to spreading George's ideas . Tolstoy

4472-461: Is usually considered incompatible with true geolibertarianism , which requires that excess rents be gathered and then distributed back to residents. During Henry George's time, this restrained Georgist philosophy was known as "single tax limited", as opposed to "single tax unlimited." George disagreed with the limited interpretation, but he accepted its adherents (e.g., Thomas Shearman ) as legitimate "single-taxers." Georgist ideas heavily influenced

4576-462: Is written as if for our generation." In the Classics Club edition forward, John F. Kieran wrote that "no student in that field [economics] should be allowed to speak above a whisper or write above three lines on the general subject until he has read and digested Progress and Poverty ". Kieran also later listed Progress and Poverty as one of his favorite books. Michael Kinsley wrote that it

4680-625: The Congressional Record and later commented that an excerpt from the book was "one of the most beautiful things" that he "ever read on the preciousness of human liberty". Some readers have found George's reasoning so compelling that they report being unwillingly forced into agreement. Tom L. Johnson , a streetcar monopolist and future progressive reformer, read and reread Progress and Poverty , finally requesting assistance from his business associates to find flaws in George's reasoning. Johnson took

4784-521: The European Parliament 1978–1979. The influence of Henry George has waned over time, but Georgist ideas still occasionally emerge in politics. For the United States 2004 presidential election , third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader mentioned George in his policy statements. Economists still generally favor a land value tax. Monetarist economist Milton Friedman publicly endorsed

4888-512: The Fabian Society , which would each go on to help form the modern-day Labour Party . The Liberal government included a land tax as part of several taxes in the 1909 People's Budget intended to redistribute wealth (including a progressively graded income tax and an increase of inheritance tax ). This caused a political crisis that resulted indirectly in reform of the House of Lords . The budget

4992-797: The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy was established in 1974 based on the writings of Henry George. It "seeks to improve the dialogue about urban development, the built environment, and tax policy in the United States and abroad". The Henry George Foundation continues to promote the ideas of Henry George in the United Kingdom. The IU is an international umbrella organisation that brings together organizations worldwide that seek land-value tax reform. The economist Alfred Marshall believed that George's views in Progress and Poverty were dangerous, even predicting wars, terror, and economic destruction from

5096-754: The Somers System . This Georgist tax continued until 1915, when two courts struck it down as violating the Texas Constitution in 1915. This quashed efforts in several other Texas cities towards implementing the Houston Plan: Beaumont , Corpus Christi , Galveston , San Antonio , and Waco . The German protectorate of the Kiautschou Bay concession in Jiaozhou Bay , China , fully implemented Georgist policy. Its sole source of government revenue

5200-411: The "least bad tax", since unlike other taxes, it would not impose an excess burden on economic activity (leading to zero or even negative " deadweight loss "); hence, a replacement of other more "distortionary" taxes with a land value tax would improve economic welfare. As land value tax can improve the use of land and redirect investment toward productive, non- rent-seeking activities, it could even have

5304-488: The Georgist land value tax as the "least bad tax". Economist Joseph Stiglitz stated that: "Not only was Henry George correct that a tax on land is non-distortionary, but in an equilibrium society … tax on land raises just enough revenue to finance the (optimally chosen) level of government expenditure." He dubbed this proposition the Henry George theorem . Several communities were initiated with Georgist principles during

SECTION 50

#1732852276469

5408-421: The Georgist policy of land value tax as a means of freeing or rewilding unused land and conserving nature by reducing urban sprawl . Pollution degrades the value of what Georgists consider to be commons . Because pollution is a negative contribution, a taking from the commons or a cost imposed on others, its value is economic rent , even when the polluter is not receiving an explicit income. Therefore, to

5512-536: The Highlands and major cities of Scotland on the invitation of the English Land Reform Union . Touring with Edward McHugh , he spoke on his theory of land reform . The tour culminated with a large meeting Glasgow on 18 February 1884, chaired by John Murdoch . Almost 2,000 people signed up, on the initiative of Richard McGhee , to form an organisation to propagate and campaign for George's ideas. This group

5616-477: The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are more than sufficient to fund all levels of government. Anarcho-capitalist political philosopher and economist Murray Rothbard criticized Georgism in Man, Economy, and State as being philosophically incongruent with subjective value theory , and further stating that land is irrelevant in the factors of production, trade, and price systems, but this critique

5720-661: The book to his lawyer and said, "I must get out of the business, or prove that this book is wrong. Here, Russell, is a retainer of five hundred dollars [about $ 17,000 in 2023 ]. I want you to read this book and give me your honest opinion on it, as you would on a legal question. Treat this retainer as you would a fee." Frank Chodorov , a pacifist libertarian of the American 'old right' , claims to have read Progress and Poverty many times, and almost constantly for six months straight, before finally accepting George's conclusions. The literary critic Horace Traubel wrote that "George died in

5824-425: The book was a revelation to his father. William Simon U'Ren wrote that he "went to Honolulu to die", but that a chance encounter with Progress and Poverty gave him a sense of purpose and renewed his desire to live. U'Ren went on to become a pioneering reformer of municipal elections and activist for direct democracy. Clarence Darrow wrote that he had "found a new political gospel that bade fair to bring about

5928-471: The charge of battle. But his book is battle spared. It has been in all battles and has survived all. Antagonism no longer has surprises for it." Philip Wicksteed wrote that Progress and Poverty had opened "a new heaven and a new earth" and that it was "by far the most important work in its social consequences that our generation or century [1882] has seen". Alfred Russel Wallace later echoed this opinion when hailing Progress and Poverty as "undoubtedly

6032-418: The common blunder?" John R. Commons supported Georgist economics but opposed what he perceived as an environmentally and politically reckless tendency for advocates to rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to tax reform, specifically, the "single tax" framing. Commons concluded The Distribution of Wealth , with an estimate that "perhaps 95% of the total values represented by these millionaire [ sic ] fortunes

6136-597: The common goal among modern Georgists is to capture and share (or reduce) rent from all sources of natural monopoly and legal privilege. Henry George shared the goal of modern Georgists to socialize or dismantle rent from all forms of land monopoly and legal privilege. However, George emphasized mainly his preferred policy known as land value tax , which targeted a particular form of unearned income known as ground rent . George emphasized ground-rent because basic locations were more valuable than other monopolies and everybody needed locations to survive, which he contrasted with

6240-478: The community, while the fruits of labor would remain private. According to Georgists, a land value tax can be considered a user fee instead of a tax, since it is related to the market value of socially created locational advantage, the privilege to exclude others from locations. Assets consisting of commodified privilege can be considered as wealth since they have exchange value, similar to taxi medallions . A land value tax, charging fees for exclusive use of land, as

6344-429: The costs of taxes and the benefits of public spending always eventually apply to and enrich the owners of land. Therefore, they believed it would be best to defray public costs and recapture value of public spending by applying public charges directly to owners of land titles, rather than harming public welfare with taxes assessed against beneficial activities such as trade and labor. Henry George wrote that his plan for

SECTION 60

#1732852276469

6448-429: The crux of George's argument and view of political economy . Take now ... some hard-headed business man, who has no theories, but knows how to make money. Say to him: "Here is a little village; in ten years it will be a great city—in ten years the railroad will have taken the place of the stage coach, the electric light of the candle; it will abound with all the machinery and improvements that so enormously multiply

6552-541: The cultivation of low value monoculture on high value land. Soon after its publication, over three million copies of Progress and Poverty were bought, exceeding all other books written in the English language except the Bible during the 1890s. By 1936, it had been translated into thirteen languages and at least six million copies had been sold. It has now been translated into dozens of languages. The following excerpt represents

6656-401: The effective power of labor. Will in ten years, interest be any higher?" He will tell you, "No!" "Will the wages of common labor be any higher; will it be easier for a man who has nothing but his labor to make an independent living?" He will tell you, "No; the wages of common labor will not be any higher; on the contrary, all the chances are that they will be lower; it will not be easier for

6760-478: The effects of various factors. Applying this method, he concluded that many of the problems that beset society, such as poverty, inequality, and economic booms and busts, could be attributed to the private ownership of the necessary resource: land rent. In his most celebrated book, Progress and Poverty , George argues that the appropriation of land rent for private use contributes to persistent poverty in spite of technological progress, and causes economies to exhibit

6864-417: The elimination of corruption, fraud, and evasion with respect to the collection of taxes; the enablement of true free trade; the destruction of monopolies; the elevation of wages to the full value of labor; the transformation of labor-saving inventions into blessings for all; and the equitable distribution of comfort, leisure, and other advantages that are made possible by an advancing civilization. In this way,

6968-546: The extent that geoists recognize the effect of pollution or share conservationist values, they will agree with ecological economists about the need to limit pollution, but geoists will also insist that pollution rents generated from those conservation efforts do not accrue to polluters and are instead used for public purposes or to compensate those who suffer the negative effects of pollution. Ecological economists advocate similar pollution restrictions but, emphasizing conservation first, might be willing to grant private polluters

7072-422: The extent that society determines pollution to be harmful, most Georgists propose to limit pollution with taxation or quotas that capture the resulting rents for public use, restoration, or a citizen's dividend . Georgism is related to the school of ecological economics , since both propose market-based restrictions for pollution. The schools are compatible in that they advocate using similar tools as part of

7176-573: The height of the philosophy's popularity. Two such communities that still exist are Arden, Delaware , which was founded in 1900 by Frank Stephens and William Lightfoot Price , and Fairhope, Alabama , which was founded in 1894 under the auspices of the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation . Some established communities in the United States also adopted Georgist tax policies. A Georgist in Houston, Texas , Joseph Jay "J.J." Pastoriza , promoted

7280-499: The highest selling books of the late 1800s. It helped spark the Progressive Era and a worldwide social reform movement around an ideology now known as Georgism . Jacob Riis , for example, explicitly marks the beginning of the Progressive Era awakening as 1879 because of the date of this publication. The Princeton historian Eric F. Goldman wrote this about the influence of Progress and Poverty : For some years prior to 1952 I

7384-630: The idea "that land is a unique factor of production and hence that there is any special need for a special theory of ground rent" claiming that "this is in fact the basis of all the attacks on Henry George by contemporary economists and certainly the fundamental reason why professional economists increasingly ignored him". Robert Solow endorsed the theory of Georgism, while being wary of the perceived injustice of expropriation . Solow stated that taxing away expected land rents "would have no semblance of fairness"; however, Georgism would be good to introduce where location values were not already privatized or if

7488-621: The ideas of Henry George. According to The American Journal of Economics and Sociology , the periodical Land&Liberty , established in 1894, is "the longest-lived Georgist project in history". Founded during the Great Depression in 1932, the Henry George School of Social Science in New York offers courses, sponsors seminars, and publishes research in the Georgist paradigm. Also in the US,

7592-503: The immediate implementation of its recommendations. Specifically, Marshall was upset about the idea of rapid change and the unfairness of not compensating existing landowners. In his lectures on Progress and Poverty , Marshall opposed George's position on compensation while fully endorsing his ultimate remedy. So far as land value tax moderately replaced other taxes and did not cause the price of land to fall, Marshall supported land value taxation on economic and moral grounds, suggesting that

7696-418: The less significant streetcar and telegraph monopolies, which George also criticized. George likened the problem to a laborer traveling home who is waylaid by a series of highway robbers along the way, each who demand a small portion of the traveler's wages, and finally at the very end of the road waits a robber who demands all that the traveler has left. George reasoned that it made little difference to challenge

7800-429: The mere laborer to make an independent living; the chances are that it will be harder." "What, then, will be higher?" "Rent, the value of land. Go, get yourself a piece of ground, and hold possession." And if, under such circumstances, you take his advice, you need do nothing more. You may sit down and smoke your pipe; you may lie around like the lazzaroni of Naples or the leperos of Mexico; you may go up in

7904-453: The mere owner, and profitable only to the user". A high land value tax would discourage speculators from holding valuable natural opportunities (like urban real estate) unused or only partially used. Henry George claimed this would have many benefits, including the reduction or elimination of tax burdens from poorer neighborhoods and agricultural districts; the elimination of a multiplicity of taxes and expensive obsolete government institutions;

8008-481: The most remarkable and important book of the present century", placing it even above Darwin's On the Origin of Species . Nobel laureate Gary Becker said that Progress and Poverty was the first economics book he read, because Henry George "was famous in those days" and "influenced a lot of us in economics". Becker also said that the book was wonderful and had a lasting impact on his thinking. Ilya Tolstoy said that

8112-694: The organisation continued, with a much lower profile, renaming itself as the Scottish Single Tax League . In 1904, it was again renamed, as the Scottish League for the Taxation of Land Values . Georgism Georgism is concerned with the distribution of economic rent caused by land ownership, natural monopolies , pollution rights, and control of the commons, including title of ownership for natural resources and other contrived privileges (e.g., intellectual property ). Any natural resource that

8216-900: The politics of the early 20th century. Political parties that were formed based on Georgist ideas include the Commonwealth Land Party in the United States , the Henry George Justice Party in Victoria , the Single Tax League in South Australia , and the Justice Party in Denmark . In the United Kingdom , George's writings were praised by emerging socialist groups in 1890s such as the Independent Labour Party and

8320-401: The privilege to capture pollution rents. To the extent that ecological economists share the geoist view of social justice, they would advocate auctioning pollution quotas instead of giving them away for free. This distinction can be seen in the difference between basic cap and trade and the geoist variation, cap and share , a proposal to auction temporary pollution permits, with rents going to

8424-473: The public, instead of giving pollution privilege away for free to existing polluters or selling perpetual permits. The revenue can allow the reduction or elimination of taxes, greater public investment/spending, or the direct distribution of funds to citizens as a pension or basic income / citizen's dividend . In practice, the elimination of all other taxes implies a high land value tax, greater than any currently existing land tax. Introducing or increasing

8528-503: The return of surplus public revenue to the people by means of a basic income or citizen's dividend . Henry George popularized the concept of gaining public revenues mainly from land and natural resource privileges with his first book, Progress and Poverty (1879). The philosophical basis of Georgism draws on thinkers such as John Locke , Baruch Spinoza , and Thomas Paine . Economists from Adam Smith and David Ricardo to Milton Friedman and Joseph Stiglitz have observed that

8632-448: The series of small robbers when the final robber remained to demand all that the common laborer had left. George predicted that over time technological advancements would increase the frequency and importance of lesser monopolies, yet he expected that ground rent would remain dominant. George even predicted that ground-rents would rise faster than wages and income to capital, a prediction that modern analysis has shown to be plausible, since

8736-453: The single-tax platform as a regression from the transition to communism and referred to Georgism as "capitalism's last ditch". Marx argued that, "The whole thing is ... simply an attempt, decked out with socialism , to save capitalist domination and indeed to establish it afresh on an even wider basis than its present one." Marx also criticized the way land value tax theory emphasizes the value of land, arguing that George's "fundamental dogma

8840-405: The sky—they would perish in a high wind; and a single truth, like a single tax, ends in its own destruction." Commons uses the natural soil fertility and value of forests as an example of this destruction, arguing that a tax on the in-situ value of those depletable natural resources can result in overuse or over-extraction. Instead, Commons recommends an income tax-based approach to forests similar to

8944-495: The social equality and opportunity that has always been the dream of the idealist". Sara Bard Field wrote that Progress and Poverty was "the first great book I ever encountered", for how it impacted her thinking on poverty and wealth. Albert Einstein wrote this about his impression of Progress and Poverty : "Men like Henry George are rare unfortunately. One cannot imagine a more beautiful combination of intellectual keenness, artistic form and fervent love of justice. Every line

9048-530: The social question and all my work for social reform began with the reading of this book". He knew of "nothing more touching, in all the range of our American literature". Holmes also said that " Progress and Poverty was the most closely knit, fascinating and convincing specimen of argumentation that, I believe, ever sprang from the mind of man." In 1930, during the Great Depression, George W. Norris entered an abridged version of Progress and Poverty into

9152-468: The supply of land is fixed. Spatial rent is still the primary emphasis of Georgists because of its large value and the known dis-economies of misused land. However, there are other sources of rent that are theoretically analogous to ground-rent and are debated topics of Georgists. The following are some sources of economic rent. Where free competition is impossible, such as telegraphs, water, gas, and transportation, George wrote, "[S]uch business becomes

9256-419: The supply of land is perfectly inelastic , land rents depend on what tenants are prepared to pay, rather than on the expenses of landlords, and so the tax cannot be passed on to tenants. Standard economic theory suggests that a land value tax would be extremely efficient—unlike other taxes, it does not reduce economic productivity. Milton Friedman described Henry George's tax on unimproved value of land as

9360-565: The territory was returned to the Republic of China . Georgist ideas were also adopted to some degree in Australia , Hong Kong , Singapore , South Africa , South Korea , and Taiwan . In these countries, governments still levy some type of land value tax, albeit with exemptions. Many municipal governments of the United States depend on real-property tax as their main source of revenue, although such taxes are not Georgist as they generally include

9464-419: The transition could be phased in slowly. George has also been accused of exaggerating the importance of his "all-devouring rent thesis" in claiming that it is the primary cause of poverty and injustice in society. George argued that the rent of land increased faster than wages for labor because the supply of land is fixed. Modern economists, including Ottmar Edenhofer have demonstrated that George's assertion

9568-533: The use of the community, of that value which is the creation of the community. It is the application of the common property to common uses. When all rent is taken by taxation for the needs of the community, then will the equality ordained by Nature be attained. No citizen will have an advantage over any other citizen save as is given by his industry, skill, and intelligence; and each will obtain what he fairly earns. Then, but not till then, will labor get its full reward, and capital its natural return. George believed there

9672-577: The value of buildings and other improvements. One exception is the town of Altoona, Pennsylvania , which for a time in the 21st century only taxed land value, phasing in the tax in 2002, relying on it entirely for tax revenue from 2011, and ending it 2017; the Financial Times noted that "Altoona is using LVT in a city where neither land nor buildings have much value". In 2023, Detroit mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan State Representative Stephanie Young proposed replacing existing property taxes with

9776-400: The value of land. After completing Progress and Poverty , George accurately wrote to his father: "It will not be recognized at first—maybe not for some time—but it will ultimately be considered a great book, will be published in both hemispheres, and be translated into different languages. This I know, though neither of us may ever see it here." Emma Lazarus wrote, " Progress and Poverty

9880-439: The vulnerability that market economies have to credit bubbles and property manias would be reduced. Income flow resulting from payments for restricted access to natural opportunities or for contrived privileges over geographic regions is termed economic rent . Georgists argue that economic rent of land, legal privileges , and natural monopolies should accrue to the community, rather than private owners. In economics, " land "

9984-500: The yield of such a tax." Economists who study land conclude that Schumpeter's criticism is unwarranted because the rental yield from land is likely much greater than what modern critics such as Paul Krugman suppose. Krugman agrees that land value taxation is the best means of raising public revenue but asserts that increased spending has rendered land rent insufficient to fully fund government. Georgists have responded by citing studies and analyses implying that land values of nations like

10088-499: Was an important distinction between common and collective property. Although equal rights to land might be achieved by nationalizing land and then leasing it to private users, George preferred taxing unimproved land value and leaving the control of land mostly in private hands. George's reasoning for leaving land in private control and slowly shifting to land value tax was that it would not penalize existing owners who had improved land and would also be less disruptive and controversial in

10192-717: Was elected as the League's new President the following year. The League merged with the Henry George Institute and the South Side Single Tax Association and renamed itself the Scottish Land Restoration Federation . Two further organisations were born of the demise of the League—the Scottish Land Restoration Union and the Scottish League for the Taxation of Land Values . Bowman left this post in 1892, but

10296-462: Was formed as the "Scottish Land Restoration League". William Forsyth became its first President, and McHugh its first Secretary. The group immediately spread to other cities around the nation. Among those who joined were many former members of the Land League. A second tour by George at the end of 1884 attracted less attention, and McHugh was accused of mismanaging its publicity. Already, the League

10400-585: Was in decline, and when it stood five candidates in the 1885 general election , they received a total of only 2,359 votes. McGhee soon assumed the Presidency of the League. In 1888, some members, around Keir Hardie , formed the Scottish Labour Party , and ceased to work with the League. McGhee left his post in 1889, to become honorary President of the National Union of Dock Labourers . Alexander Bowman

10504-597: Was passed eventually—but without the land tax. In 1931, the minority Labour government passed a land value tax as part III of the 1931 Finance act. However, this was repealed in 1934 by the National Government before it could be implemented. In Denmark, the Georgist Justice Party has previously been represented in Folketinget . It formed part of a centre-left government 1957–60 and was also represented in

10608-569: Was the land value tax of six percent which it levied in its territory. The German colonial empire had previously had economic problems with its African colonies caused by land speculation . One of the main reasons for using the land value tax in Jiaozhou Bay was to eliminate such speculation, which the policy achieved. The colony existed as a German protectorate from 1898 until 1914, when seized by Japanese and British troops in World War I . In 1922,

10712-459: Was to be advanced by the inhabitant, or by the owner of the ground, would be of little importance. The more the inhabitant was obliged to pay for the tax, the less he would incline to pay for the ground; so that the final payment of the tax would fall altogether upon the owner of the ground-rent. Both ground-rents and the ordinary rent of land are a species of revenue which the owner, in many cases, enjoys without any care or attention of his own. Though

10816-496: 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. Progress and Poverty had perhaps even

#468531