Progress and Poverty - edited and abridged for modern readers by Bob Drake (Paperback)

~ Henry George (Author), Bob Drake (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A century ago, Henry George was by far the most widely read writer on economics. He wrote about matters of deep and broad concern, with conviction - with a style whose passion and vigor commanded attention. The substance of his messages also justified attention then and does today. --C. Lowell Harriss, Columbia University

The greatest economics treatist ever written by an American. --Michael Kinsley

The main, underlying idea of Henry George... is an argument that makes an awful lot of sense. --Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate; author of Globalization and Its Discontents

Product Description

Why There Are Recessions And Poverty Amid Plenty- And What To Do About It! One of the world's best-selling books on political economy edited and abridged for modern readers. Many economists and politicians foster the illusion that great fortunes and poverty stem from the presence or absence of individual skill and risk-taking. Henry George, by contrast, showed that the wealth gap occurs because a few people are allowed to monopolize natural opportunities and deny them to others. George did not advocate equality of income, the forcible redistribution of wealth, or government management of the economy. He simply believed that in a society not burdened by the demands of a privileged elite, a full and satisfying life would be attainable by everyone.

Product Details

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (December 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0911312986
• ISBN-13: 978-0911312980
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,624 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book fills a need that we've had for a long time., April 10, 2007

By	taxpayer - See all my reviews

Henry George's Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth, The Remedy, written in 1877-79, was the best-selling nonfiction book of its time and remains, as Michael Kinsley wrote in 1987, "the greatest economic treatise ever written." It explains why poverty persists despite technological and political progress, and why economic recessions are still a constant threat. It also provides a good analysis of any number of very modern problems.

But for most modern readers, Henry George's original text is not easy going. It assumes a large vocabulary and includes enough classical references that recent editions have included an extensive glossary of mythological and historical terms. What Drake has done with this modernization is to make George's thoughts more accessible to today's audience, who will find that by understanding them they can much better comprehend the issues that affect the lives of us all.

Several of the Henry George Schools have begun using this book, with very encouraging results.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Progress and Poverty, September 14, 2007

By	Heather T. Remoff (PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

 If ever there was a time when the world needed the wisdom of Henry George, it is now. His classic work, Progress and Poverty, should be required reading for anyone concerned with establishing social and economic justice in a world that seems increasingly characterized by greed. The Drake modernized edition makes George's unique insights accessible to those of us who struggle with the pull of conflicting demands on our time. Even so, I recommend an unorthodox approach to this book. The early chapters demand a level of concentration that might be unusual except in someone deeply committed to understanding the root cause of the growing gap between rich and poor. Therefore, start by getting your passions flowing. Read the "Publisher's Forward." Then flip to the afterword and be stirred by Agnes de Mille's answer to the question: "Who was Henry George?" Her writing is as beautiful as her dance. You may now be moved to tackle the economic theories of wages and distribution, but I suggest deferring for just a bit longer. Read the
last half of the book first. Begin with Chapter 25, "The True Remedy." Once you've read through to the conclusion, the fire in your belly ought to be sufficient to carry you through the fine points of economic argument contained in the first twenty-four chapters. You won't be disappointed. As Bob Drake, Editor, notes in his preface, "Those who pick up this book are likely to share some concern about the problem of poverty; those who finish it may also find some cause for hope....It
was, and still is, a plan for peace, prosperity, equality, and justice."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you looking for answers to, June 28, 2007

By	Wyneth C. Achenbaum "wyna" (Stamford, CT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bob Drake's updating and abridgement of Henry George's landmark book on political economy is a pleasure to read. Those who have read the original will re-experience that pleasure. Those who have not yet become acquainted with these ideas will find a smooth entry mode.

Bob's updating started with a thought-by-thought rewrite, which maintains both the flow and the flavor of the original, without the voluminous verbal illustrations and extended sentences that George used. If the original was in the language of the Book of Common Prayer, the new edition is in the language of a contemporary news magazine -- readable, accessible, rich in content.

And, oh, what content! Henry George saw in his day the source of the problems which afflicted our society then and which still plague us today. The Remedy he prescribes is just as relevant today as it was then.

If you say you are concerned about poverty, concerned about the wildly skewed distributions of wealth, income and the power that flow from them, concerned about the protecting the environment from ill treatment by people and corporations who have little incentive to do otherwise, concerned about housing affordability, concerned about wages that aren't sufficient to meet a young family's most modestly defined needs, concerned about urban sprawl and long commutes and large amounts of energy expended on daily transportation, you need to know this book. It will provide you a very different lens through which to understand these problems, and to see how these dots (and others important to most of us) connect. And best of all, P&P not only lays out the nature of the problem, it prescribes the remedy.

This is a very satisfying read, and is likely to change your entire perspective on many of our most serious social, economic and environmental problems. And, interestingly, it does not blame the victim.

Once you've read it, share it with others who are similarly concerned. Until we've enacted this reform, none of the other things we depend on to reduce poverty, sprawl, skewed distributions, etc., can do much good. And once we've enacted this reform, most of them will no longer be necessary.

This is the best route to leveling the playing field and reducing the potholes that impoverish our fellow human beings and ourselves.