Since earliest civilizations, humans have recognized that food is a product of farmland (and, yes, pastureland, fisheries, etc) and have managed to cultivate enough land to feed themselves. Yet today we routinely convert farmland to urban use. American Farmland Trust (AFT) seek to ensure continued agricultural use of some land by buying development rights from farmers, and try to make farms more viable by facilitating community supported agriculture. The geoist fiscal reform provides an alternative way to encourage more conservative and productive use of all land. With additional material from YES! magazine about the slow food revolution, this presentation by HGS instructor Bob Jene suggests that an alliance between AFT and geoists might benefit both.
The People of the Abyss (1903) is a book by Jack London (1876-1916) about life in the East End of London in 1902. He wrote this first-hand account by living in the East End for several months, sometimes staying in workhouses or sleeping on the streets. The conditions he experienced and wrote about were the same as those endured by an estimated 500,000 of the contemporary London poor. Decades later, this book inspired George Orwell to write Down and Out in Paris and London.
A bit late to be a contemporary of Henry George, Jack London lived mainly in northern California and was a passionate advocate of workers’ rights. Both London and George were members of Bohemian Grove.
(source: Wikipedia)
The People of the Abyss is available free on line as text from Gutenberg, and as an audiobook from LibriVox, as well as in hardcopy from various libraries and book dealers.
Political Economy Book Club is open to everyone wishing to participate in the discussion, without charge altho donations are appreciated to help pay for rent and snacks. Convenor Bob Matter appreciates an RSVP from those planning to attend.