Henry George
American economist who advocated a single tax on land values in 'Progress and Poverty'.
Most quoted
"The wide-spread poverty which everywhere exists in spite of the increase of productive power, and which manifests itself in the destitution of masses of men too poor to buy the products of industry, and in the consequent stagnation of industry, is a riddle which the political economy of the day has utterly failed to solve."
— from Progress and Poverty, 1879
"The truth that I have tried to make clear will not be all new to you. It is the truth that has been seen by great intellects in every generation, and has been proclaimed by inspired teachers and prophets as the law of God."
— from Progress and Poverty, 1879
"The ideal social state is not that in which each gets an equal amount of wealth, but in which each gets in proportion to his contribution to the general welfare."
— from Progress and Poverty, 1879
All quotes by Henry George (100)
Want is the mother of crime.
The vice of our present system is that it shuts out the natural cure of want and misery in the freedom of barbarism.
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.
The truth is, the government of the people by the people is a dream.
All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others in opportunity.
The earth belongs to no one; its fruits belong to all.
Progress is not in the machine; it is in the mind.
Taxation is the price we pay for civilization.
The concentration of wealth is a natural result of the present system.
Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.
The land question is the key to all social questions.
Wealth increases, but poverty persists.
The true remedy for the wants of civilization is found in civilization itself.
Monopoly is the bane of progress.
The state should be the servant, not the master.
Education is the great equalizer.
The wage system is a form of slavery.
Nature's law is abundance; man's law is scarcity.
The single tax would abolish poverty.
Freedom is not license, but responsibility.
Contemporaries of Henry George
Other Economicss born within 50 years of Henry George (1839–1897).