Henry George: Dreamer or Realist?

by Steven B. Cord

Historians have come to realize that George exerted an important influence on the development of American Democratic thought. Numerous reformers of the Progressive Era ackknowledged that their thinking had been vitally affected by an early reading of Progress and Poverty...His ethical analysis has attracted much favourable attention. This study reviews that treatment accorded Henry George by American economists and historians from 1879 to the present. Their statements have been carefully compared to Henry George's writings to seehow accurately his ideas were evaluated. The research points to the rather surprising conclusion that despite his wewly recognized importance as a seminal figure in both history and economics, Henry George's ideas have not been well understood by many writers in those fields. --- excerpts from book's back cover

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Brent Ranalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A critical overview of the reception of Henry George's writings and ideas by professional economists, historians, and and textbook writers, from his own day down to the mid- twentieth century. Interesting to see how, as times changed, George's reputation went from radical (as a grand reformer) to something of a quaint conservative (with scruples about how the government raises its taxes), and also how so many scholars could, apparently, so grossly and irresponsibly misread or fail to read the texts they are critiquing when their prey is already marked as an easy target.