From the Narrow Single Tax to Broad Progressivism: The Intellectual Development of Louis F. Post, 1898-1913

Abstract . Following a brief biographical sketch of Louis F. post (1849-1928), this study focuses on the intellectual development of the man who became the de facto leader of the U.S. Single Tax Movement after the death of Henry George. During the period 1898–1913, Post served as editor of The Public, a Chicago weekly. In its analysis of Post's journalistic writings and of his books, The Ethics of Democracy (1905), Social Service (1909), and The Ethical Principles of Marriage and Divorce (1904), the study documents the broadening of Post's thought and suggests the influence which Progressivisim had on the single tax and vice versa. Single Taxers contributed greatly to the success of progressivism in America. In the process, however, many single taxers moderated their thinking to the point where the Single Tax Movement lost its separate identity. Post also participated in the 1909-1910 Reform movement in England.