Foreword - Brief Article

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, Dec, 2001

THE HENRY GEORGE Program at St. John's University originated in 1981 with a grant from the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation that established the Henry George Chair in our College of Business Administration. Mr. Thomas Larkin, a member of the Foundation's Board of Directors and the St. John's University Board of Trustees, was instrumental in arranging the grant.

The Foundation's objective was to disseminate knowledge about the ideas of Henry George, the 19th-century economist and social reformer. George was appalled at the persistence of great poverty in the midst of the unparalleled economic progress brought about by industrialization. By utilizing the tools of economics, he sought to find an explanation for this phenomenon and a solution to it. His thinking was presented in the book Progress and Poverty. Originally published in 1879, it is one of the most widely sold books in history and has been translated into many languages. Progress and Poverty was followed by several other books, articles, and speeches that developed his ideas more extensively. Among these were Protection or Free Trade, The Science of Political Economy, and Social Problems.

According to George, the cause of poverty amidst abundance was due to monopoly in land ownership and land speculation. As a society grows, land values appreciate. The poor suffer because of higher rents and the withdrawal of land from productive use for speculative reasons. George characterized this return to land as an unearned increment, that is, the increased land values are not due to the productive efforts of the landowner but to the progress of society. Thus, he called for a tax on land values to the exclusion of all other taxes. The revenues from such a land-value tax, George believed, would be sufficient to fund all necessary municipal public services. Moreover, land held for speculation would be returned to productive use, thereby increasing employment opportunities for the working classes. In an effort to implement his theories, George ran for mayor of New York City, without success, in 1886 and 1896.

Each semester, an economist of national or international stature presents the Henry George Lecture. Over the years, the lecture series, which is open to the general public as well as the academic community, has featured seven current or subsequent winners of the Nobel Prize in Economic Science. These are James Buchanan, Wassily Leontieff, Gary Becker, Merton Miller, Lawrence Klein, Douglass North, and William Vickrey. The Lectures have addressed a variety of Georgist concerns such as land-value taxation, public finance, free markets and free trade, private property, and economic reform.

In addition to the lecture series, the Program has sponsored a number of related events. These have included faculty seminars, a scholarly paper competition, an occasional paper series, and alumni breakfasts with the speaker. The essays in this volume by Aslanbeigui and Wick, Martin, and Shapiro were winners of scholarly paper competitions. Since 1988, most of the lectures have been videotaped and are available in the Media Center of the University Library. This book provides the highlights of our Program.

On behalf of St. John's University, I would like to thank Drs. Nicolaus Tideman and C. Lowell Harris, current and past presidents of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, as well as the Foundation's past Executive Directors, Ted Gwartney and Dr. Oscar Johannsen. Their long-term support has been critical in sustaining the high quality of this endeavor. Also, Dr. Mason Gaffney of the Foundation's publication committee should be acknowledged for his efforts in making this volume a reality. My predecessor in the Chair, Dr. Northrup Buechner, deserves credit for putting the Program on solid ground and establishing its reputation in the academic community. Jerry D. Jean-Pierre, my former graduate research assistant, introduced me to the wonders of scanning and was instrumental in putting the articles in electronic form. Finally, I must commend co-editor Cliff Cobb who handled the bulk of the editorial responsibilities and did so in a highly focused and creative manner.

In each essay in this volume, the views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of any organization with which he or she is associated.

Joseph A. Giacalone