Georgism

Our Bright Georgist Future

(From https://progressandpoverty.substack.com/p/our-bright-georgist-future)

As orator of the day in San Francisco, July 4th, 1877, Henry George gave a speech titled Ode to Liberty (which we're republishing as a standalone here). Later the speech was incorporated into Progress and Poverty as part of the chapter ‘The Central Truth'. For George, liberty was a fundamental necessity to human flourishing; all of mankind's greatest advancements had come under the light of liberty. All the rhetorical appeals to liberty and justice that accompanied the founding of the United States however, amounted in practice to a half measure.

In our time, as in times before, creep on the insidious forces that, producing inequality, destroy Liberty… Either we must wholly accept her or she will not stay. It is not enough that men should vote; it is not enough that they should be theoretically equal before the law. They must have liberty to avail themselves of the opportunities and means of life; they must stand on equal terms with reference to the bounty of nature. Either this, or Liberty withdraws her light… Unless its foundations be laid in justice, the social structure cannot stand.

For all the progress that the Enlightenment made in progressing human liberty, furthering democracy, and combating aristocratic feudalism, it failed to secure equal access to the bounty of nature. We've written previously about the high water mark of Georgism, which was most influential outside of the United States where the problems of a closed frontier were most evident. In George's own country however, the movement seemed to die on the vine after the 1910's (aside from moderate success in Pennsylvania and a few experiments here and there, mostly after George's death).

So, where do we stand today, nearly 250 years after the initiation of the “Great Experiment” and 150 years after George declared it incomplete? As with the whole world, the United States has seen massive advances in quality of life and material wealth, lifting millions out of poverty both at home and abroad. As a global leader, the United States has helped lead a world that has become less violent, more wealthy, and happier. But, as George noted, advancing wealth is accompanied by increasing poverty. Not all Americans have enjoyed the benefits of a more prosperous nation.

As Fred Harrison wrote, increasing income inequality has given rise to the perception that our institutions, and democracy itself, is incapable of solving our biggest challenges. Trust in our government and democracy as an institution is declining significantly. As Noah Smith notes, there are indications the American public may be adopting more of a “scarcity” or “zero-sum” mindset; this is the idea that there isn't enough to go around and that your neighbor achieving a better life puts one's self at risk of having a lower one. And of course this makes people more selfish, less trusting, more anti-immigration, and more tribal, which is directly in line with the rise of populism in the United States.

There are many parallels between today and previous periods in American history, but each time we managed to punch through, threading the needle between “Liberty withdrawing her light” and “fully trusting her”. The future is cloudy and I'm not the type of person to prognosticate about what might come - I humbly accept my inherent myopia, in the grand scale of human events. But there are signs that we might be entering into a New Age of Georgism.

Perhaps it's too early to suggest such a thing; we certainly are in no position to rest on our laurels. But there seems to be significant interest in the public consciousness about Georgism. First, the four-part review of Georgism by Lars on ACX gave Georgism a semi-viral kickstart to the year. Following, we've seen high profile endorsements of land value tax by the famous crypto entrepreneur Vitalik Buterin and Redfin's chief economist Daryl Fairweather. The founding of Young Georgists of America, a college student organization. A renewed call for rethinking public finance in the wake of the pandemic by leading economists, including Michael Hudson. Will Jarvis's Narratives Podcast Housing Podcast Arch. A piece by the excellent policy reporter Jerusalem Demsas, where she describes how land value tax could solve this. Most recently, a video by the popular history Youtuber Mr. Beat. And of course, the founding of this substack, which has been far more successful than we ever imagined.

As we celebrate the 246th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we hope that we can play a part in ultimately securing the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that the founders wrote were self-evident - but this time, in foundations that are truly laid in justice.