Progress and Poverty
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Progress and Poverty is an 1879 book by social theorist and economist Henry George.[1] The publication helped initiate the Progressive Era, with Jacob Riis explicitly dating that era's awakening to 1879 because of this book's release.[2]
Making and release
The book was aimed in part at discrediting Social Darwinism, the idea that "survival of the fittest" should serve as a social philosophy.[3] The solution lies in the three laws governing the distribution of wealth.[3] Rent always increases with material progress, which explains why wages and interest do not.[3] Progress inevitably causes a speculative increase in land values if land is private property.[3]
Nothing short of making land common property can permanently relieve poverty.[3] Having personally experienced poverty, traveled widely, and resided in rapidly growing California, George was well-situated to recognize this pattern.[4] According to the book's preface, Progress and Poverty demonstrates that large fortunes and poverty result from special privileges, not from differences in individual skill or risk-taking.[3]
What the cited sources add
Gesell argued that unemployment and economic crises are problems of exchange, not distribution.[5] Gesell stated that "progress and poverty are not necessarily coupled" and that progress and growing prosperity often go hand in hand.[5] The opposition to every kind of progress proceeds from the landlords, according to Gesell.[5] The "Prefaces" to Progress and Poverty state that the book "stands the test of time" and is "an enduring classic."[3]
Those who finish the book may find some cause for hope regarding the problem of poverty.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Progress and Poverty" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Zarlenga, "Henry George’s Concept of Money", American Monetary Institute, July 21, 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Progress and Poverty" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frederick, "Knights of the Golden Rule the Intellectual as Christian Social Reformer in the 1890s", University Press of Kentucky, 1976 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Progress and Poverty, Prefaces". facts only, no text reused. henrygeorge.org
- Wikipedia, "Progress and Poverty" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: George, "What the Railroad Will Bring Us", October 1868; Charles A. Barker, "Henry George and the California Background of Progress and Poverty," California Historical Society Quartery 24, no. 2 (Jun. 1945), 97–115. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Gesell, "Die natürliche Wirtschaftsordnung durch Freiland und Freigeld", 1916. facts only, no text reused. theanarchistlibrary.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Progress and Poverty (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Progress and Poverty (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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