Books

Published by Henry George himself, no dates later than 1879 in the text or front matter, though an ad at rear for the German edition of this title shows that German title page, dated 1888. This printing includes the "Preface to the Fourth Edition," and we will thus list as the "Fourth edition." However, please note that as the author declares therein that "Except that some verbal errors have been corrected and a preface added, this edition is the same as previous ones," this 1888 copy of the 1879 title might be more appropriately called George's fourth PRINTING, in the modern vernacular. This volume opens with four pages of "Opinions of the Press." Bound In original brown cloth with blind rules; gilt titles to spine quite legible though moderately age-dulled. Board corners slightly toed in but not worn through. Original floral endpapers. George (1839-1897), Democrat and co-publisher of the short-lived San Francisco Daily Evening Post (1871-1875), first published "Progress and Poverty" in 1879. The book has been credited by many as giving birth to the "Progressive" movement, which seeks to use government force to transfer wealth from the more productive to the less productive, such wealth transfers at gunpoint leading inevitably to indolence, declines in productivity and entrepreneurship (since those virtues are punished), and totalitarian socialism. George lost his 1886 race for Mayor of New York (where he had relocated in 1880), running on the "United Labor" ticket against 12-term Democrat U.S. congressman Abram Hewitt, though he received more votes than the Republican nominee, 28-year-old former state assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt. In "Progress and Poverty," George holds the cause of poverty rests in "private property in land," his proposed solution being to "abolish all taxation save that upon land-values." Whether Mr. George would have approved of the obvious corollary -- that if only land owners fund the government, surely only land owners should be allowed to vote -- seems unlikely. 512 pp. including Index, followed by 10 pp. publisher's ads for George's other titles including for the German edition "Fortschritt und Armuth, Deutsch von C.D.F. Gutschow," 1888 (which advertisement gives us our most likely date of publication for this volume), to include a final 2 pp. "Urtheile der Presse," those 2 pp. (only) being in German. Reduced from $3,250.