The Progress and Poverty Centenary: Advocates and Opponents Will Enjoy and Learn from the Papers Given at One Celebration

A bstract . The Committee on Taxation. Resources and Economic Development , a group of American fiscal economists , commemorated the centenary of the publication of Henry George's classic, Progress and Poverty , with a conference reported in the book. Land Value Taxation. It raises, typically from a variety of perspectives, the major issues engendered by George's analysis and policy recommendations. Economists who are at least open-minded on George recognize him as a true progressive , a believer in the distribution of income in accordance with productive contribution and a convincing advocate of the social appropriation of economic rent on scientific and moral grounds. George was fundamentally correct in the idea that some form of land value taxation is an especially suitable mode of financing government, though the notion that this could be the single tax is and was unrealistic. The case for this as a cure for poverty is substantially exaggerated but it would remove one source of economic inequality. George, like Edward Bellamy , in promoting equality of opportunity rallied public support for the long-developing movement for pluralist economic democracy .