CHAPTER XII.

THE AGRARIAN SOCIALISM OF HENRY GEORGE.

Mr. George Predicts that his Book would find Apostles, 441--Fulfilment of the Prediction, 441--Sisyphism, 442--Loses His Religious Belief through Perception of Poverty, 443--Recovers it again, 445--1st, His Problem, 445--Its unverified Assumption, 445--Evidence of Facts against it, 448--Average Scale of Living has Risen, 449--Proportion of Paupers, unable to obtain it, has Declined, 449--Special Decline of Able-bodied Pauperism, 450--Increase of Length of Life, 452--Mr. George Changes his Problem from one of Quantity to one of Proportion, 453--Rent really no larger Proportion of National Wealth or even of Agricultural Produce than before, 454--Wages no Smaller Proportion, 456--Indications of Increasing Distribution of Wealth, 457--2nd, Mr. George's Explanation, 461--Alleged Tendency of Wages to a Minimum that gives but a Bare Living, 462--The Wages Fund and Population Theories, 464--Mr. George's New Population Theory, 465--His New Wages Fund Theory, 468--His Explanation of the Distribution of Wealth without taking Profits into Account, 474--Views on Rent, 476--on Interest, 483--Wages, 484--Margin of Cultivation, 484--Absurdities of his Explanation, 485--3rd, Mr. George's Remedy, 487--Land Nationalization Movement in England, 488--Futility of Mr. George's Remedy, 489--Confiscation, 490--Difference of Mr. George's Proposal from Mr. Mill's, 491--Agricultural Land as truly the Fruit of Labour as other Commodities, 492--Real Distinction between Land and other Property, 494--Social Claim on all Property, 495--Is Private Property the best Guarantee for the most Productive use of Land? 496--Land Nationalization no Assistance to the Reforms that are Needed, 498.