Bookshop

by John Tippett

Bryan Kavanagh wrote “How satisfying to read a book which explains simply, logically and coherently why economies are currently failing: economic justice no longer exists. Civil freedom may have been granted to us, but we are denied economic freedom by distributional systems which pay obeisance to greed.”

By John Pullen

In 1890, the famous American economist and social reformer, Henry George, arrived in Australia to begin a controversial 98-day public lecture tour. Following the international publicity generated by his book Progress and Poverty, with its challenges to conventional economics, he had made several lecture tours in Britain, attracting immense audiences. In Australia he visited 34 cities and towns and continued to promulgate vigorously and eloquently his radical program for the ownership, management and taxation of natural resources such as land, coal, and minerals.

Nature’s Gifts provides, for the first time, a detailed account of this important and progressive lecture series. Equal rights to land; land taxation; land prices; land rents; land nationalisation; and free trade and protection remain issues which are highly relevant today.

Engaging and insightful, this is a timely and critical study of the reforms proposed by Henry George and the possibility of establishing an efficient and equitable system for the ownership of natural resources.

By Andrew Purves

Governments around the world are wrestling with the problems of enormous debts, low growth, high unemployment and a gap between the demands of public expenditure and what can be raised through taxation. This problem has been acute since the financial crisis, but has been a hallmark of western economies for decades.

Only a few countries have been able to avoid this pattern, mostly those blessed with vast natural resources such as oil. However, there are two small islands with no natural resources which have also enjoyed high growth combined with low taxation: Hong Kong and Singapore. Nor do they have any public debts, on the contrary, they generally run a budget surplus, and investment income is a feature of their government revenue.

The author has gone beyond the conventional analysis of taxation, and asked what each jurisdiction has in common, to bring about this happy state of affairs.

The result is quite surprising for two countries which sit at the top of the table for promoting free markets and other capitalist ideals of small government. All land in Hong Kong is owned by the government, which makes it available for use by lease in return for a Government Rent, while Singapore now controls over half of its land area, as well as significant stakes in its strategic industries, which deliver a steady stream of unconventional income.

Although in Hong Kong this situation has developed almost by accident, Purves suggests that here lies a model for generating public revenue that could be adopted in other countries to allow a shift in taxation from production and consumption to the Economic Rent of land, as advocated by Adam Smith over two hundred years ago..

David Smiley’s subtitle ‘How Faulty Institutions Create World Poverty’ indicates a deep investigation into the structural constraints of the economy, particularly those undermining the social mobility Western economies strive for.

Walter Rybeck looks at the big issues of Joblessness, Blighted Cities, Crumbling Infrastructure, Homelessness, Environmental Abuse and Recessions to look into the heart of privilege and inequity.

A recent book by Julian Pratt, Stewardship Economy: private property without private ownership, builds on the tradition of Thomas Spence, Henry George, Hillel Steiner and others to review western attitudes to land and the environment. It argues that the system of private property rights, ownership, that we apply to the things we make (artefacts) is entirely inappropriate when applied to the natural world (both land and the environment).

The book does not challenge the existence of private property in the natural world but it proposes that this should take the form of stewardship not ownership. A steward of the natural world has:

– the right of access – to use it in the way that they choose, within the constraints of any relevant regulations
– the responsibility of care – to manage it responsibly and husband it for future generations, accepting liability for any damage done to it
– the duty of compensation – to pay an annual fee, equal to its market rent, into a fund that is used to benefit everyone as government revenue (in place of conventional taxes) and as a Universal Income
– ownership, in the conventional sense, of any buildings or other improvements.

The author sets out the practical benefits of a stewardship economy and discusses how to make a transition from an ownership economy. A supplementary volume, to be published later in the year, will trace the ethical and practical arguments for stewardship from the perspectives of property rights, economics, optimal taxation and benefit systems.

by Phil Anderson

This timely book provides a detailed insight on how the addiction to land speculation became the foundation of the United States of America, as we know it today, the only country in the world where land title is not exclusively ‘owned’ by the government or crown – except in Australia, where Aboriginal people can have “native” title to their traditional lands.

If you always thought something was missing from economic prescriptions, this is a must read. Read the review here.

by Fred Harrison

How to Outlaw Cheating and Save our Civilisation

After correctly forecasting the timing of the global financial crisis, Fred Harrison now extends that same analysis to the future of the West – His alarming conclusion is that we are at a very dangerous tipping point! Attributing the present crisis to a social process of cheating, he develops a synthesis of the social and natural sciences to show how the market system can be reformed… it might not be too late to prevent the looming catastrophe!

From the book: “As a life support system, urbanisation on the scale that required massive investment in infrastructure was fatally flawed. My general theory of cheating accounts for the tragedy that is embedded in civilisation. It explains all of the dysfunctional forms of behaviour which combine into crises on a scale that leads to collapse of the system. Cheating on a socially significant scale corrodes the structural foundations of civilisation. The kind of cheating with which we are concerned exercises the power to block the feedback mechanisms (such as moral codes) that would otherwise deliver stability.” (page 34)

by Fred Harrison

‘You can become wealthy by creating wealth or by appropriating the wealth created by other people. When the appropriation of the wealth is illegal it is called theft or fraud. When it is legal economists call it rent-seeking’ John Kay, Financial Times

The conquest of nations inevitably splits the population into two classes – the victors and vanquished. The path to peace and prosperity is Harrision’s aim as he analyses the modern day influences on the Taliban, Al-Qaeda to the CIA.

Alanna Hartzok, who we toured around Australia in 2006, has a new book: The Earth Belongs to Everyone. Signifying the clarity of this work, Alanna has been awarded the 2008 Radical Middle Political Book Award. The annual award is given to books that best exemplify a politics that’s grounded in practical reality, but at the same time are deeply creative and imaginative.

The book is a collection of Articles and Essays. Themes include: Democracy, Earth Rights and the Next Economy; Sharing Our Common Heritage; Land for People, Not for Profit; Financing Local to Global Public Goods; Women, Earth and Economic Power; From Warfare to Earthshare.

House Prices, Banking & the Depression of 2010

A core function of government is to ensure economic stability so that captain’s of industry and homeowners can save and invest with confidence. The author argues that at the core of present day capitalism is a destabilising mechanism economists prefer to ignore.

by Fred Harrison

Self Funding Infrastructure

Heavy on practical examples, once reading this you will armed with the evidence to refute anyone who ever says ‘there’s no such thing as a profit making public transport system’.

by Fred Harrison

There’s only one way to kill poverty

Ever thought why poverty inquiries fail to make a difference? Essential reading if we are ever to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. $20 is all you need. Read the review here

and the great con trick of Debt!

by Shirley Anne Hardy

“Parts of it make me want to laugh or dry at the same time. Only a blacksmith in a faery tale could have wrought together such a powerful piece of work as Shirley indeed has.”

by John Davis

The Community Land Trust Reader brings together for the first time the seminal texts that inspired and defined the CLT. Selections trace the intellectual origins of an eclectic model of tenure that was shaped by the social theories of Henry George, Ebenezer Howard, Ralph Borsodi, and Arthur Morgan and by social experiments like the Garden Cities of England and the Gramdan villages of India.

Edited and abridged for modern readers by Bob Drake

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.

The writings of Henry George

The all-time best-selling economics book. Never out of print since its first publication over 100 years ago. Written in beautiful prose, more resembling fine literature than an economics text. Explains the paradox of increasing poverty with advancing technology.

Gives a policy prescription to unemployment and the struggles of small business. Highly recommended!

This definitive biography of Henry George, first published in 1955 by Oxford University Press, approaches its subject from a critical historical and sociological perspective. It reveals George’s importance in stimulating land and social reform in Britain.

Forward and compliled by Mark Hassed

The economic wisdom of Henry George – Rediscovered. Highlighting his most arresting speeches.

Our current economic paradigm – the “free market” system – delivers some dismal outcomes including chronic unemployment, poverty, welfare.

by Fred Harrison and Mason Gaffney

This, our best-selling title by current authors, is a brilliant and exciting expose of the connections between economics as a theoretical science and the funding of higher education as a political strategy.

Was neoclassical economics designed to obscure the importance of land in the face of the criticisms of monopoly by Henry George and others? Read the introductory chapter to the book all students of economics should study.

by Lindy Davies

A fictional book on how a developing nation could independently reform their economic system. Billions have been spent on foreign aid programs that have done little to avoid the structural poverty afflicting so much of the world. Lindy Davies is one of our leading intellects, as you can see in this interview.

by Bryan Kavanagh

A case study of the social and economic costs of real estate bubbles (1972 – 2006)

DON’T MISS THIS NEW LVRG REPORT

A study of the Australian real estate market, acting as a proxy for all world economies. See how tax systems have:

• created a property bubble poised to burst
• led to unaffordable housing
• given all the wrong takeover signals to investment banks

One of our most important reports – world leading research that must be digested over 28 crucial pages. Read why life wasn’t meant to be so hard!

Buy your copy for $10

by Frank Stilwell and Kirrily Jordan

Analysing Economic Inequality in Australia, Stilwell & Jordan delve into the data to paint a picture of a two speed society whilst providing needed solutions.

By C.H. Spence

An Autobiography

Popularly known for her stance on Proportional Representation, Catherine Spence was a pioneer on Land Value Taxation in Australia. As a journalist she wrote some key articles promoting the concept.

The book also includes her private diary, complete with notes on dinners with the George’s in San Francisco.

by Fred Harrison

House Prices and the Great Tax Clawback Scam

One of the world’s leading experts on property cycles, Fred Harrison dissects Tony Blair’s failure to reform the welfare state and enhance opportunity for all. Mr Harrison uses a balance between practical examples and classical theory to deliver his message on policy solutions for the future.

Very readable. Bryan Kavanagh, from the LVRG, states this is Harrison’s best book yet.

by Peter Barnes

A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons

George Lakoff (author of ‘Dont Think of an Elephant’) says “Peter Barnes version of capitalism can save the planet, redress many equities of wealth, and reclaim the commons – our air, our water, our airwaves, and more. Here is capitalism as you’ve never seen it before. Take a look!”

A top introduction to our concepts.

Many see this as the best introductory text on George’s writings. An exposition in simple language of the problems that face society and the solution. The passion of George’s quest for social justice shines through.

Regarded by many as Henry George’s greatest work. More detailed and technical than Progress and Poverty.

Does tariff “protection” really help the people or is it a hoax that accrues profits to vested interests?

Written in beautiful prose and in many places quite humorous.

by George Charles

An excellent primer in economics written in plain English.

by Sir Allen Fairhall

If you would like to learn everything you need to know about tax reform in only 3 hours buy this book! Sir Allen, who was a Cabinet Minister during the time of Sir Robert Menzies, explains how poverty and unemployment could be cured by the replacement of all other taxation with the ‘Single Tax’ on land values.

by Philip Day

Is land a valuable community resource or merely another commodity for speculation? The elusive quest for social justice, taxation reform and a sustainable planetary environment.

by Duncan Pickard

A Study in the Culture of Deception

The culture of deception that underpins the economics of agriculture is revealed in this hard hitting expose. The usual suspects see lobbyists, big agriculture and tax dodgers threatening family farms. Duncan gives us an insight to such fears and then proposes an answer.