!!Please note location and access details at the bottom of this post!!
Introducing Progress and Poverty
Repeats three times this term
Thursday, September 5, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Tuesday, September 10, 5:30 – 7:30 PM*
Thursday September 12, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
In his 1879 masterpiece Progress and Poverty, Henry George proposed to end poverty by recognizing a clear and logical distinction between private property and community property. America took a different path, but Chuck Metalitz (September 5 and September 12 sessions) says George’s proposal is the best way to bring prosperity to the struggling people of America today.
After a brief outline of George’s early life and work, he’ll consider the remedies proposed in our time for poverty, and evaluate their potential to assure that everyone has the opportunity to get a comfortable living. Then he’ll present George’s remedy, which is even more valid in 2024 than it was in the gilded age, and note some of the obstacles to its implementation.
Of course there will be time for questions and discussion.
This single session is intended to provide an overview of what Progress and Poverty covers, and why it’s worthwhile for thinking people to investigate it today. At the conclusion of the session, you’ll be invited to sign up for the complete Progress and Poverty course, but there’s no obligation to do so.
*At the September 10 session, George Menninger will cover the same concepts in a somewhat different way, including his practical experience in their use.
Progress and Poverty
Thursdays, September 26 thru November 21, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
This course is based on Henry George’s book of the same name, supplemented by modern readings, presentations, and some videos. If possible, you should have attended one of the Introducing Progress and Poverty sessions on the prior three Thursdays , then there are nine additional sessions thru November 21. From this course:
- You will learn a method of reasoning that is useful in understanding all sorts of community problems.
- You will know the mechanism by which poverty tends to worsen as the economy progresses, and why programs aimed at alleviating poverty can have, at best, only limited success.
- You will see the inherent contradictions which cause “economic development” programs to fail.
- You will understand the fundamental cause of the ongoing financial crises.
- You will know why similar crises occur repeatedly, every decade or two.
- You will recognize why honest and efficient government, improved public education, and many other desirable reforms cannot by themselves bring prosperity nor end poverty.
- You will have a better understanding of the economic system under which we live.
- You will know how Liberty and Justice are essential elements of any system which works for everybody.
- You will understand and have evaluated for yourself a method of public finance which might end poverty and prevent financial collapses.
Instructor: Adam H. Kerman
Applied Economics
Tuesdays, September 17 thru November 19, 5:30 – 7:30PM
This course requires prior completion of Progress and Poverty, or equivalent knowledge.
This course is based mainly on two of George’s shorter books, Protection or Free Trade and Social Problems. You’ll be impressed with how closely the concerns of the 1880s anticipate 21st-century problems, and consider how George’s proposals might be applicable today.
Instructor: Chuck Metalitz
All of the above events are at Signature Offices, 333 S Wabash Ave #2700, Chicago IL 60604. To register, email us events@hgchicago.org or phone 312 362-9302.
BUILDING SECURITY WILL REQUIRE YOU TO SHOW ID UPON ENTERING. We have no choice in this regard, but if it’s a concern to you, let us know and we will try to arrange a workaround.