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SCI LIBRARY

Review of the Book

Henry George
by Albert Jay Nock

W.D. Lamb



[Reprinted from Land and Freedom, November-December 1939]


As a Single Taxer since 1904, and an admirer of Henry George from every standpoint, I would like to say a word about Albert Jay Nock's Henry George. The reviews of that book all fail to reach the vital point, which is, that Nock does not understand "Americanism." He is as ignorant of the meaning of that term as taught by our fathers, Jefferson, Washington, etc., as a school kid. Yes, ignorant is the word only that and nothing more, and there are multi-millions like him in that respect sorry to say. You will remember that a few years back, Nock had an article in Scribners under the title, "Henry George, Unorthodox American." Now the title of that article shows Nock to be ignorant.

An orthodox American is one who believes in Americanism as per the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of Human Rights, these "We hold these truths to be self-evident, etc." Now any person who reads Henry George cannot but see that this Declaration of Human Rights, runs through his books like the warp in a web of cloth! So he must be an orthodox American not unorthodox at all as Nock stated in the heading of the article in Scribners. That is, Nock has yet to learn the meaning of true Americanism as per the Declaration. And being ignorant on that very point, he could not truly represent Henry George in any important particular. All the other reviewers of Nock's book have ignored this all important point.

George's books, with human rights ignored, is like the play of "Hamlet," with Hamlet left out.