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Henry George
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Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry in the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth... The Remedy Hardcover – December 30, 1992

by Henry George (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 120 ratings
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"The people must think because the people alone can act." - Henry George The classic bestseller in political economy launched a worldwide movement with a unique strategy to abolish privilege and poverty.
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  1. Print length
    599 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Robert Schalkenbach Foundation
  4. Publication date
    December 30, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 2 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    091131279X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0911312799
  8. See all details
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About the Author

HENRY GEORGE (1839 - –1897) was one of America's best known economists and the founder of the single-tax movement.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Robert Schalkenbach Foundation; Reprint edition (December 30, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 599 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 091131279X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0911312799
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.34 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 2 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 120 ratings

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Henry George

Henry George

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
120 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

David M Wane
5.0 out of 5 stars Every captialist should read this book, as should every town planner and real estate agent!
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2023
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Still relevant today. A great thinker in a progressive time. This book states the problem clearly and succinctly.
One person found this helpful
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Brice Fincher
5.0 out of 5 stars lets tax that land!
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2019
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Well written for a modern audience despite being from the 19th century. The book addresses many of the contradictions in modern capitalism and puts a rather concrete framework in how to achieve a better society through a rather mundane change that seems to have few downsides. I have no idea what George was talking about when he was trying to explain "interest" through.
4 people found this helpful
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Russell Branca
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2019
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This is a classic for all serious students of economic theory. It really doesn't need a review, any serious analysis would be too long and technical for this forum.
3 people found this helpful
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Troutman
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book but very dry....
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
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Great read if you can make it through! If you're not an economics nerd you may want to look at another title because this book goes deep!
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Jidge
5.0 out of 5 stars very well recognized book
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2019
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Just started to read what is regarded by experts as an excellent book. looking forward to reading it soonest.
One person found this helpful
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Ben C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to understanding the cause of social problems
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2019
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Everyone should read this book. I idolized J. M. Keynes until I discovered Henry George.
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Ray
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a flog really, written only a ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2016
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A bit of a flog really, written only a little after their Civil War the writer, although one that really did not miss a single opportunity to support his case has about it a history lesson rather than what he had intended.
He intended showing how North America could become an example to the existing countries of the time that had made colonisation such a profitable adventure to examine very closely ways and means to give all of its subjects an equal 'share-of-the-cake'.
It had far more validity at the time of writing than later when the sheer weight of economy changes with the very latest appearance of population expansion has given the rule-book a serious need for change.
RH Foster
3 people found this helpful
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Kyriakos Varveris
5.0 out of 5 stars A RARE BOOK!!!
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2013
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This is a rare book.
The best book i have ever read in the subject of Political Economy.
Henry George's, contibution in the subject is monumental. Read it and you will never see the principles of political economy with the same eye ever again!!!
14 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Andrew Ashurst
5.0 out of 5 stars The antidote to the quants that serve the plutocrats
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2011
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This is an excellent and remarkably modern read given it was written 130 or so years ago. This edition is a paperback reprint (2003) of the 1979 edition and has prefaces from previous editions and also a good index and glossary (he uses many classical references - well at least more than the average modern reader like me could cope with without a glossary).

George was, by trade, a journalist and worked outside the European or even the US metropolitan intellectual milieu of the time. That said he was clearly not in ignorance of it. I love the fact that he is clearly well versed in the classical economists though not in awe of them. Ricardo, Smith, Mill and others - he agrees with them mostly but takes them to task, and apart, especially Mill, carefully where he considers they have overlooked not understood or misunderstood something. Not being an Economist and writing in frontier San Francisco are only two reasons why mainstream economics seems to have ignored him. He could not and still cannot be placed in a faction, he was neither a socialist (his writings are just pre-Marx in English, though reviews of George for later editions are post Marx in translation) nor on the side of capital or the rentier class. His ideas are pro-enterprise and trade but are fresh, radical but above all practical and reach to the roots of the problems of political economy even now. Moreover the book is surprisingly PC and readable given it's age and subject matter.

Having become aware of the LVT concept and George's writings articles like the one I have just read on the BBC, [...] by Tom de Castella now irritate me. How a popular article purporting to be a trot through possible radical solutions to the (UK) housing crisis be written without at least mentioning Land Value Tax, which truly is a radical solution to that problem (and many others,) reflects poorly on BBC journalism.

This book however, reflects well on the journalist - it shames the economist. I do wonder why the Schalkenbach Foundation have not made it more widely available. Perhaps a Kindle version would be good.

A quote from the jacket,

"Men like Henry George are rare, unfortunately. One cannot imagine a more beautiful combination of intellectual keeness, artistic form, and fervent love of justice. " Albert Einstein.

You might wonder why George isn't better known, with testimonials like that and from Tolstoy and Roosevelt among others? Mason Gaffney has a good article "The Corruption of Economics" plausibly explaining why and how George has been so efficiently suppressed.
8 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply illuminating read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 29, 2017
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A really great book that illuminates a number of fundamental pillars of the economy that the general public and even many economists are completely unaware of. Once you have read this book, you will understand how land is the base upon which all economies are built and that ownership of this land can give people huge amounts of wealth without them having to contribute anything to the creation of that wealth.

Anyone who thinks that land is no longer an important factor in the modern world needs only look at the rich lists in the UK and USA: the majority of each is taken up by people who have large investments in property companies and mining firms - companies that gain their wealth through land ownership.

Land ownership is still a great cause of inequality and economic slowdown because all labour (no matter whether it is agriculture, banking, manufacturing etc.) must be performed on land. Henry George will walk you through how this can be seen through both logical induction and empirical observation with a clarity of explanation that is extremely rare amongst political economists.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone wishing to see what the missing link in our current way of understanding the economy is.
5 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars The land from which we get our life belongs to all of us.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2019
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A challenging read with some thought provoking ideas. One more unassailable truth that is denied by the everyday actions of greedy property owners. The Earth belongs to us all.
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Clive Menzies
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2012
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Everyone should read this book because it explains how our economic system prejudices the welfare of the majority at the expense of the few. Written over 100 years ago it is an analysis which stand the test of time but because it threatens the interests of the rulling classes and the financial elites, it has been suppressed and ingnored. Yet it holds one of the keys to unlock the current economic conundrum of unsupportable debt, no growth and finite resources.
4 people found this helpful
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Harry hardiker
5.0 out of 5 stars social taxes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2020
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print was small but a book 📙 to read if you are interested in economics
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