Henry George and Europe: As Dissident Economist and Path-breaking Philosopher, He was a Catalyst for British Social Reform

Abstract . Henry George's influence was greater in the United Kingdom than in the United States. The 80s and 90s there were particularly favorable for the reception of his revolutionary ideas. Though, thanks to such thinkers as Alfred Russell Wallace and James and John Stuart Mill, a land reform movement already existed, its sudden rise to national significance was due to George. George's writing and speaking skills and his dedication moved many serious citizens into the political Left and heavily influenced men and women who became leaders of British non-Marxian socialism, at the formation and consolidation of their movement. While George's followers broke with both the Wallace and socialist movements, George's rhetorical talents awakened the broad circles of thinking people to a consciousness of the full range of the social question.     

George on Free Trade, At Home and Abroad: The American Economist and Social Philosopher Envisioned a World Unhindered in Production and Exchange

Abstract . Henry George's theories on international trade are little known though he is respected as an advocate of free trade. He went along with the free traders of his time in three-fourths of his classic, Protection or Free Trade. But he went far beyond the others in the last fourth of his book. “True” free trade, he argued, in the debate over protection that engaged some of the best minds in England and America, applied to domestic production as well as production for export. Hindrances to trade, like most tariffs, taxes, subsidies or other government policies, make products more expensive for the working people, worsen their situation by increasing economic rent to resource owners at the expense of labor and capital, and misallocate resources, maximining inefficiency and cost. The principle of free trade leads to Justice and equal rights, he held, seeking to advance his vision of a free society. Short run and long run solutions to protectionism are presented.     

The Henry George Theorem and the Entrepreneurial Process: Turning Henry George on his Head

This chapter offers an interpretation of the Henry George Theorem (HGT) that brings it squarely into the study and analysis of entrepreneurship somewhat loosening its ties to the subfield of urban economics. I draw on the pioneering work of Spencer Heath whose insights about the viability of proprietary communities were developed further by his grandson, Spencer Heath MacCallum who, in 1970, recognized that private real estate developers sometimes make their capital gains (mostly) by creating useful public spaces that others enjoy. I also draw inspiration from Fred Foldvary's effort in 1994 to synthesize the pubic goods problem in economics with the Henry George Theorem in urban economics. While the real estate owner—developer does emerge on my pages in a somewhat more favourable light than as originally portrayed by Henry George in his Progress and Poverty in 1879, I offer a realistic appraisal of the duplicitous behaviours required of such entrepreneurs. in the context of the modern regulatory state. Real estate development remains a 'hot button' item in local politics, and real estate developers must become genuine 'political entrepreneurs' if they are to complete their projects in a timely way and capture business profits. It is a complicated story that the HGT helps make intelligible in terms of human action.     

The Social,Spatial, and Economic Roots of Urban Inequality in Africa: Contextualizing Jane Jacobs and Henry George

Unravelling the social and economic roots of urban inequality in Africa has remained a thorny issue in African political economy. Stripped to its bare essentials, the critical questions are who causes urban inequality, what causes it, and how it is caused? While all different, the questions are interrelated. Answering the “who causes inequality” question requires a related analysis of what and why, and that is connected to the how question. Indeed, the how question has two parts—how inequality is caused and how it can be addressed. Both are connected to the why question and to its resolution. Unfortunately, while studies about urban inequality abound, they tend to hive off one aspect or another of the tripartite questions on inequality and, even worse, they study the three questions separately. This article tries to overcome the existing atomistic and piecemeal approach to the study of urban inequality in Africa by contextualizing the work of Jane Jacobs and Henry George, who took a holistic view of urban inequality. It argues that Jacobsianism and Georgism have much to offer in terms of understanding urban inequality in Africa, but neither analysis goes far enough to be able to serve as a solid foundation for policy. Ultimately, it is in their approach to urban analysis—the emphasis on context, on actual urban problems, inductivism, and some of their mechanisms for change such as George's land tax and cautious abstraction, in that order, along with their combined vision—which I call “diversity in equality”—that can add to the insights of postcolonialism in understanding and transforming urban inequality in Africa.     

Henry George and His Philosophy: He Sought Equality of Opportunity to Use the Earth's Resources as Well as the End of Land Monopoly

Abstract . The George scholars today appear to be interesting the academic community in re-evaluating Henry George and his ideas. George, the 19th century American economist and social philosopher, dedicated himself to ending poverty by giving everyone equal access to the earth and its resources. He believed that land monopoly could be ended by taking the economic rent of all land and natural resources to meet the costs of government in lieu of taxes on labor and capital. George's writings revived interest in the ethos of the early settlers a time when sight was being lost of Pioneer America's contribution to the world's march toward freedom.     

John Dewey and Henry George: The Socialization of Land as a Prerequisite for a Democratic Public

John Dewey frequently praised Henry George, author of a plan to confiscate land values with a “single tax.” Scholars have failed to account for Dewey's support of George. Some have argued that it should not be taken seriously because it is at odds with their interpretation of Dewey's philosophy. This article demonstrates that Dewey perceived the socialization of land values as an essential step toward creating a true democracy. Furthermore, Dewey's interest in George was not an aberration; it was exemplary of his faith in ideology, theory, and transformative social policy. Despite contentions to the contrary, pragmatists of the early 20^th century never emphasized skepticism, moderation, or rote empiricism. In fact, Dewey embraced the philosophy of Henry George as a general theory of history of society. During the Great Depression, Dewey attacked the piecemeal reformism of the New Deal in favor of the comprehensive vision of Henry George.     

Joshua K. Ingalls, American Individualist: Land Reformer, Opponent of Henry George and Advocate of Land Leasing, Now an Established Mode

A bstract . Joshua K. Ingalls was a member of a particularly cohesive group of 19th century intellectual iconoclasts in America, the individualists. Two controversies made him widely known at the time: the land reform vs. abolition argument before the Civil War, and his attacks on Henry George in the 1880s over the issue of land reform through tax reform or land reform through land leasing under an occupancy and use system of tenure. Ingalls held George failed to understand the "true" nature of capitalism; rent goes to the landlord as capitalist as reward for his investment; the landowning capitalist appropriates this by his dominion over the land. Though Ingalls' argument did not prevail, land leasing, which he advocated, is the form in which some resources are now disposed of, as in grazing rights and mineral exploration on public land, and in oil exploration rights on the continental shelves; and in the disposition of urban sites such as the site of Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building in New York (the former to the benefit of Columbia University, the latter Cooper Union, both by legislative action).     

Henry George and the Classical Scientific Research Program: The Economics of Republican Millennialism

Abstract . Henry George's classicism was evident in his acceptance of “hard core” assumptions inherent in classical economic analysis, notably that rational self-interested behavior exercise in competitive markets maximized economic welfare. However, George's “stage theory,” the “Law of Human Progress,” led him to reject the classical nexus between social and economic welfare. The emergence of an exchange economy improved efficiency and economic welfare, but institutional changes lagged behind, particularly the redefinition of property rights. Consequently, economic growth based on land as a private rather than public good widened the gap between economic efficiency and social welfare. Hence George's paradox of poverty amidst progress. George resolved the equity efficiency conflict by treating land as a public good. Then, the sale of monopoly rights to land through the “single tax” on land rents captured the difference between the private and social costs of land use.     

The Meaning,Prospects, and Future of the Commons: Revisiting the Legacies of Elinor Ostrom and Henry George

Elinor Ostrom's work on the commons has convinced mainstream economists that “collective” governance of the commons can overcome the “tragedy of the commons” and “free‐rider problems.” Yet, a more systematic appraisal of Ostrom's work shows that it contains no concept of justice. Her idea of rights is extremely limited, often tied to the notion of joint, rather than equal, rights. Indeed, for Ostrom, the notion of the commons is socially separatist and not ecological. Ostrom uses historical examples, but without analyzing how common possession historically evolved and was undermined by external forces. Hence her proposed “collective action” to save the commons actually accelerates the real threats to the commons. A strikingly different and more holistic approach to the commons is offered by Henry George, who posits the commons as the most important path to social, economic, and ecological sustainability. Unlike Ostrom, who studied the commons “scientifically” to show that some goods are neither private, public, nor club‐based, George studied the commons to understand and remove injustice at the roots. His approach is more critical and certainly more relevant today in showing that another world is possible. However, George's work too, requires significant changes to update its framing of the meanings, prospects, and future of the commons.     

The DNA of Enterprise: Jane Jacobs and Henry George on Innovation and Development Through Spin‐Offs

The main training grounds for entrepreneurial, technical, and business capacities are existing businesses. There are two ways that this training can lead to new growth—just as there are two ways that existing biological DNA can lead to the growth of bio‐mass, namely, (1) existing organisms getting bigger or (2) by spinning out offspring who in turn can spin out more offspring. Where growth has been vibrant, e.g., Silicon Valley, it has followed the second route, growth by offspring. This is also the biological principle of plenitude. Conventional ownership structures lessen the incentives for spin‐offs since managers do not want to reduce the “empire” under their control. The biological principle of plenitude is best implemented with employee‐owned or cooperative firms (e.g., as in the Mondragon cooperative group). Inspired by ideas first proposed by Henry George and Jane Jacobs, this article explores the social benefits of applying the biological principle of plenitude by encouraging the proliferation of enterprises. This poses a conundrum for societies organized around the private business model: How can the social benefits of spin‐offs be realized when managers do not have an incentive to foster new businesses? We conclude with ways to address this problem.     

Just Reward: The Nature of Work and Its Remuneration in the Economics and Ethics of Henry George

Work is a fundamental reality of human existence. This essay examines in general terms the idea of work and labor, briefly explains the biblical foundation of George's perspective on work, and presents George's analysis on unemployment, technological change, and true competition. Finally, it discusses how access to the natural opportunities land provides liberates labor and advances the just distribution of wealth, connects these insights to Catholic Social Teachings (CST), and calls for more cooperation between these natural allies.     

Henry George and Europe: Ireland, the First Target of His Efforts to Spread His Doctrines Internationally, Disappointed Him

Abstract . Henry George made several crusading forays into the British Empire at the time of its zenith. But the first, to Ireland, proved a disappointment. George saw Ireland as an object lesson in the land question and at first It was uppermost in the minds of the 600,000 tenant farmers. But the 20,000 landlords agreed to an amelioration, and for decades, republicanism replaced land reform in Irish social history. George misread the temper of the times; he saw Ireland's political future better served by becoming a self-governing unit of a league of British nations. “Integration” was the trend of the times, the American social philosopher insisted. Ireland (with the exception of Ulster) became a dominion in 1921 but it withdrew from the British Commonwealth in 1949 to become a sovereign republic. George was not wholly wrong in emphasizing economics over politics. In 1955 Ireland, now Eire, entered the United Nations where it wielded influence all out of proportion to its resources and economic development became its over-riding issue.     

Protection or Free Trade: An Analysis of the Ideas of Henry George on International Commerce and Wages

Abstract . Henry George, the 19th century American economist and social philosopher, abandoned protectionism and became a free trader when he engaged in the great tariff debate of the last quarter of his century. In the controversy, a true follower of Adam Smith, he anticipated neoclassical positions on the tariff question, particularly the Stolper-Samuelson theory which predicts that free trade will increase the prices of the abundant factors of production relative to the prices of the scarce factors. George's concern in the great debate was labor; he was convinced that only certain interests representing capital or resource ownership would benefit from protection at the cost of labor and the enterprises in fields with more abundant resources. But the free trade effort failed and in 1894 the Wilson-Gorman tariff increased the exactions to the highest level yet. The protectionist tide, only slowed by the Woodrow Wilson Administration, was not reversed until after World War II.