Henry George and Political Democracy

George M. Fowlds

[An excerpt from a paper published in the New Zealand periodical Commonweal, January-February 1940]

SURVEYING activities of the Natural Justice movement throughout the World during 1939, and the general ascertainable reactions thereto, the opinion that has been forming in our mind for some years becomes strengthened into a conviction. Shortly put, our view is that little or no real and enduring progress can be made by old methods, original constructive, dynamic ideas being imperatively needed for advancement. This applies to the Cause over the English-speaking world at least, but we shall confine ourselves to our own especial field - New Zealand.

We do not see the slightest indication that the policy for an economic democracy, that of publicly collecting the social values (commonly called land rent) for public revenue, and the abolition of taxation, is likely to be nationally accepted within any predictable period of time. On the contrary, there are many signs that we shall presently have to fight for the retention of what partial measures the veterans of the Cause fought for and obtained in days gone by. For example, Auckland colleagues have been drawing our attention to the tentative onslaughts upon even the unimproved values system of rating, these preliminary thrusts being reported in the press, but answers thereto being suppressed.

This threatened move by landlord vested interests to upset U.V, rating may well prove a blessing in disguise, since the need of defence must force our followers to do what we have for some time now been urging upon them: to seek membership on local bodies, our view being that local bodies (councils and boards) should be empowered to collect the fll annual social values, and not a portion thereof only, as is now the position; … ; value of all rateable property; to its equivalent on the unimproved value.

The above is the maximum allowed by general rate, and any further revenue required must come from special rates, special charges, or licenses. The result is that all economic rent above the maximum the local body can take by rates goes into the pockets of the ground rent landlords. As we have shown before, this partial application being of some temporary benefit, inevitably goes the way of all other social gains; that is, it results in still further increases in social values where applied, so that in the long run the land lords scoop up all the gains.