Premium
Henry George and the Classical Scientific Research Program: The Economics of Republican Millennialism
Author(s) -
Petrella Frank
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/j.1536-7150.1988.tb02036.x
Subject(s) - economics , economic rent , property rights , monopoly , private property , welfare , public economics , market economy , microeconomics
A bstract .Henry George's classicism was evident in his acceptance of “ hard core” assumptions inherent in classical economic analysis , notably that rational self‐interested behavior exercise in competitive markets maximized economic welfare. However, George's “ stage theory ,” the “ Law of Human Progress, ” led him to reject the classical nexus between social and economic welfare. The emergence of an exchange economy improved efficiency and economic welfare, but institutional changes lagged behind, particularly the redefinition of property rights. Consequently, economic growth based on land as a private rather than public good widened the gap between economic efficiency and social welfare. Hence George's paradox of poverty amidst progress. George resolved the equity efficiency conflict by treating land as a public good. Then, the sale of monopoly rights to land through the “ single tax ” on land rents captured the difference between the private and social costs of land use.