Henry George was Gilded Age America’s most famous economist. His magnum opus, Progress and Poverty, presented a utopian, reformist route to prosperity and was one of the best-selling books of the 19th century. For a brief period, his popularity was staggering: his funeral in 1897 drew hundreds of thousands, rivaling Abraham Lincoln’s. By World War I, though, the American branch of the Georgist movement had foundered. Though celebrated by figures from John Dewey to William F. Buckley, Georgism did not play a prominent role in American politics after World War I. Rather, it was across the Pacific that Georgism would find its most influential disciple:
American Georgists like Wolf Ladejinsky also helped with bringing some Georgist influence back to Taiwan, influencing its postwar land reform through the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, which channeled agricultural aid to the farmers.
Can you please send a link of where to read "Capitalism" by James Lin? It is used extensively in the article, yet I can’t seem to find any trace of it on the internet.
I seem to have a soft spot for Georgist ideas in many cases.
I remember the Robert A Heinlein novel offered a similar land tax where anyone could institute a hostile purchase of land at your self valued price. You could increase the value to reject a bid but would have to pay 3 years of back taxes.
i will offer a very short summary of my proposal that also dovetails in with common ownership. Instead of like China where the state owns everything and all natural asset income I propose that there should be a Adult Resident CITIZEN Dividend (ARCD) that is composed of ALL income that the country earns from all sources except personal tax. Citizens will want to stay in their native countries unless they have the skills or enterprise to succeed without their ARCD or are prepared to integrate. Similar to a UNCONDITIONAL (not Universal) Basic Income Then the operating budget of the state is levied as a FLAT income tax on all income for all RESIDENTS (so those who enjoy the fruits of the countries infrastructure pay for it) so everyone has a basic income according to how efficient and mineral and hydropower rich the country is and how small the population is. The Government will tax people at a rate to make sure there are no hungry people in the country. The laws are reduced, two must go for each new law so the number will diminish until only important ones remain. No law is proposed unless the public demand it so laws will serve the people. Representatives can be recalled if more NAY votes are recorded at any vote of no-confidence, called by anyone, that they received votes to gain office to keep representatives representing. Then moves should be put in place to distribute government as wide as possible so laws only affect those that want the laws. The social contract to be a citizen kicks in at majority and you receive your ARCD in exchange for pledging not to breed more than one child (or two for a couple) basically to each the right of replacement as the only fair limitation on population that a sane individual could accept for themselves and impose on others. If people can see how population numbers affect their ARCD and medical and military spending increases their tax rate they will choose representatives that will promote population growth restraint and reduce national spending.
I would love to see moves in directions that would see system put in place that have as long term goals the real welfare of the people in ways that are inherently stable instead of requiring a massive police force to have people agree to the social contract. Put rules in place to make people strive for the right goals instead of having perverse incentives to externalise costs and dodge taxes and be trapped in means tested benefit traps.
Fascinating. I had no idea that the Kuomintang were influenced by Georgism.
A fascinating article! The West certainly has a lot to learn from the East, and vice versa.
American Georgists like Wolf Ladejinsky also helped with bringing some Georgist influence back to Taiwan, influencing its postwar land reform through the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, which channeled agricultural aid to the farmers.
Can you please send a link of where to read "Capitalism" by James Lin? It is used extensively in the article, yet I can’t seem to find any trace of it on the internet.
I seem to have a soft spot for Georgist ideas in many cases.
I remember the Robert A Heinlein novel offered a similar land tax where anyone could institute a hostile purchase of land at your self valued price. You could increase the value to reject a bid but would have to pay 3 years of back taxes.
i will offer a very short summary of my proposal that also dovetails in with common ownership. Instead of like China where the state owns everything and all natural asset income I propose that there should be a Adult Resident CITIZEN Dividend (ARCD) that is composed of ALL income that the country earns from all sources except personal tax. Citizens will want to stay in their native countries unless they have the skills or enterprise to succeed without their ARCD or are prepared to integrate. Similar to a UNCONDITIONAL (not Universal) Basic Income Then the operating budget of the state is levied as a FLAT income tax on all income for all RESIDENTS (so those who enjoy the fruits of the countries infrastructure pay for it) so everyone has a basic income according to how efficient and mineral and hydropower rich the country is and how small the population is. The Government will tax people at a rate to make sure there are no hungry people in the country. The laws are reduced, two must go for each new law so the number will diminish until only important ones remain. No law is proposed unless the public demand it so laws will serve the people. Representatives can be recalled if more NAY votes are recorded at any vote of no-confidence, called by anyone, that they received votes to gain office to keep representatives representing. Then moves should be put in place to distribute government as wide as possible so laws only affect those that want the laws. The social contract to be a citizen kicks in at majority and you receive your ARCD in exchange for pledging not to breed more than one child (or two for a couple) basically to each the right of replacement as the only fair limitation on population that a sane individual could accept for themselves and impose on others. If people can see how population numbers affect their ARCD and medical and military spending increases their tax rate they will choose representatives that will promote population growth restraint and reduce national spending.
I would love to see moves in directions that would see system put in place that have as long term goals the real welfare of the people in ways that are inherently stable instead of requiring a massive police force to have people agree to the social contract. Put rules in place to make people strive for the right goals instead of having perverse incentives to externalise costs and dodge taxes and be trapped in means tested benefit traps.
End of ramble.