logo

70 pages 2 hours read

Henry George

Progress and Poverty

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1879

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Before You Read

Roundup icon

Super Short Summary

In Progress and Poverty, Henry George examines the paradox of technological advancements and increased wealth resulting in diminished wages and growing poverty for workers. He identifies rising land rents and private land ownership as key causes of this socioeconomic inequality. George proposes a remedy of a single tax on land to address wealth disparities, advocating for more equitable distribution and improved public welfare through land reform.

Reviews & Readership

Roundup icon

Review Roundup

Henry George's Progress and Poverty receives acclaim for its incisive analysis of economic disparity and its advocacy for land value tax as a remedy. Critics laud its clarity and relevance but note its sweeping generalizations and dated economic perspectives. Despite its age, the work remains a provocative and influential treatise in economic discourse.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Progress and Poverty?

A reader who would enjoy Progress and Poverty by Henry George is likely interested in economics, social justice, and land reform. Comparable to Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Karl Marx's Das Kapital, this reader enjoys in-depth analysis of socio-economic issues and historical economic thought.

Book Details
Pages

598

Format

Book • Nonfiction

Setting

1880s

Publication Year

1879

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

Continue your reading experience

Subscribe now to unlock the rest of this Study Guide plus our full library, which features expert-written summaries and analyses of 8,000+ additional titles.