The Life of Henry George

A book that I read this summer that is not on my initial reading list is a biography of American social thinker Henry George. The man's son, Henry George Jr, wrote it in 1904 and dedicated it "to all who strive for the reign of justice."

Henry George’s life was more varied and adventurous than you might expect of a nineteenth-century self-taught economist. When he was young he voyaged to Australia and India. A few years later he sailed to California to make his fortune. He never “struck it rich,” but he did work as a typesetter, elope with a Catholic girl from Australia, and eventually get mixed up in politics.

It is an engaging story, and it actually helps the reader understand why Henry George developed his ideas. Living in California for much of his life, Henry George watched land values skyrocket due to speculation. He saw “robber barons” become fabulously wealthy with the help of land grants and government subsidies. At the same time, it was becoming more difficult for a common laborer to make a living. It is not suprising that Henry George advocated abolishing taxes on labor and on capital and replacing them with a tax on land’s unimproved value. I suspect that his arguments are not quite as persuasive as they probably were in Henry George's day.

But Henry George was convinced that he had discovered a timeless truth. He was confident that this truth must eventually prevail. And when it did prevail, he was sure that it would end inequality, poverty, and misery. This was Henry George’s gospel, and he preached it with tireless zeal.