America’s only Political Economy Book Club discusses Candide, Voltaire’s 1759 masterpiece that ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies and philosophers through allegory. As Jean Starobinski notes,”The fast-paced and improbable plot—in which characters narrowly escape death repeatedly, for instance—allows for compounding tragedies to befall the same characters over and over again.”
It’s only a hundred pages or so depending on the translation and format, and is available in English translation free from Project Gutenberg (in several formats) as well as from the Internet Archive, where there is also an audiobook.
PEBC coordinator Bob Matter would appreciate an RSVP, if possible, from those planning to attend.
We didn’t have time for all the videos he wanted to show last time, so Chuck Metalitz is doing it again: A marathon (well, four hours or so) of animations, lectures, documentaries, and other formats, from America, Canada, Australia, Britain, and maybe a few others, including people we do not necessarily identify as Georgists. Most of these are about three to fifteen minutes, with longer ones represented by extracts. You’re welcome to stop by any time during the show; do not feel obligated to attend the entire session.
Just about all of these videos are intended for an audience not familiar with Henry George or, in many cases, not even conscious of political economy. That probably describes some of your friends or professional colleagues, so bring them along.
We will have some sort of light refreshments. The event is free, with donations welcome. Also welcome are suggestions for relevant videos which we might not be aware of.
Urban sprawl is threatening to destroy much valuable farmland. We will look at data from one of the leading national organizations trying to mitigate this damage, The American Farmland Trust (AFT). Among other things they buy development rights from farmers to insure the land’s continued use in agriculture and attempt to facilitate community supported agriculture which makes family farms more viable. The Georgist fiscal reform reduces sprawl alleviating pressure on farmland.
(image credit: Kristian Bjornard ; Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0); https://flic.kr/p/8RYWFy)
Recent books by Scott Baker and Tom Tresser (ed) assert that America is not Broke and Chicago is not Broke. They’re right, of course, and neither is Illinois. Using principles outlined by Henry George, this presentation will show how the community could choose to collect the value it creates, funding its needs without discouraging productive work.
Recent books by Scott Baker and Tom Tresser (ed) assert that America is not Broke and Chicago is not Broke. They’re right, of course, and neither is Illinois. Using principles outlined by Henry George, this presentation will show how the community could choose to collect the value it creates, funding its needs without discouraging productive work, and without burdening the earning power of the most needy.
This is an update of material originally presented in May of this year. While subsequent developments have transferred some of the economic distress from governments to citizens, there is no indication that the politicians or other interest groups involved admit any understanding of the fundamental economic principles described here.
Recent books by Scott Baker and Tom Tresser (ed) assert that America is not Broke and Chicago is not Broke. They’re right, of course, and neither is Illinois. Using principles outlined by Henry George, this presentation will show how the community fails to collect its legitimate earnings, instead placing barriers against productive work and making it unnecessarily difficult for working people to earn a living.
This is an update of material originally presented in May of this year. While subsequent developments have transferred some of the economic distress from governments to citizens, there is no indication that the politicians or other interest groups involved admit any understanding of the fundamental economic principles described here. Without this understanding, even honest government couldn’t put Illinois on a path to prosperity and freedom.
This Henry George School presentation is sponsored by the Chicago Ethical Humanist Circle, is free and open to the public. The Library is three blocks from the Western Brown Line CTA station.
Cook County isn’t broke either. Neither is Chicago.
In this session you will learn about the legitimate earnings that our communities generate every day, and how collecting these earnings would allow removal of barriers to productive work which make it unnecessarily difficult for working people to earn a living.
There’s plenty of waste and fraud throughout government, but that’s not the focus here. Even an honest and efficient government requires revenue, and the source of that revenue determines whether we can have prosperity and freedom, or — something else.
PREREGISTRATION MANDATORY. This program is free, but due to building policies you must pre-register by email or by phoning us at 312 450-2906.
Cook County isn’t broke either. Neither is Chicago.
In this session you will learn about the legitimate earnings that our communities generate every day, and how collecting these earnings would allow removal of barriers to productive work which make it unnecessarily difficult for working people to earn a living.
There’s plenty of waste and fraud throughout government, but that’s not the focus here. Even an honest and efficient government requires revenue, and the source of that revenue determines whether we can have prosperity and freedom, or — something else.
PREREGISTRATION MANDATORY. This program is free, but due to building policies you must pre-register by email or by phoning us at 312 450-2906.
Join us in celebrating Income Tax Appreciation Day. This page will be updated with specifics of our celebration as we figure out how best to do it.