Land&Liberty
Encyclopedia
Land&Liberty is a quarterly magazine
of popular political economics: its focus is the relationship between land and natural resource rights and 21st century economic policy. Published in the UK it covers international affairs and events from a global perspective.
The magazine contains major features, editorial and comment, news and reports, reviews, interviews and readers' letters.
Since the 1980s Land&Liberty has been an influence on the political opposition within Zimbabwe. In August 2008, the Movement for Democratic Change presented their political programme for the coalition government that they had entered into with the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF) party. It included a policy for raising public revenue from a tax on land values
, as advocated by Land&Liberty: “the MDC will through an Act of Parliament establish a Land Commission whose mandate is to…[i]ntroduce an equitable Land Tax”. The party’s Policy Coordinator General, Eddie Cross
, wrote in a 2009 article in Land&Liberty that his party’s new policies would help ensure that “secure communities will become free communities with the capacity to confront and control those in charge of the state”.
—of whom Albert Einstein
once said: “one cannot imagine a more beautiful combination of intellectual keenness, artistic form and fervent love of justice”.
Land&Liberty was launched in June 1894 under the title The Single Tax
, published as “The Organ of the Scottish Land Restoration Union”. Perhaps foreseeing George Bernard Shaw
’s later remark, in 1928, that “the Single Taxers are not wrong in principle; but they are behind the times”, the periodical changed its title in 1902 to Land Values
and subsequently in 1919 to Land&Liberty.
, the first socialist elected to the UK Parliament, who went on to become the Labour Party
's first leader. Inspired by Henry George, the Union's activism helped deliver—through its publication The Single Tax: "an American impulse behind the Scottish labor movement, which became historic in making the modern Labour party, and in forging the character of twentieth-century Britain." Yet within its first year—recording historic shudders in the evolution of British socialism and the birth of the Labour party—the magazine was writing: "what have the Labour Party to offer us? Anything or everything but the single tax.".
(including first publishings of private material), Arthur Withy
, Louis F Post
and Leo Tolstoy
(again including first publishings of private material).
The magazine published its correspondence from around the world, such as from New Zealand's Patrick O'Regan
, and enjoyed secondary publishing rights from writers and thinkers such as Mark Twain
and Herbert Spencer
.
The paper reported extensively the events surrounding the 1909 UK People’s Budget, and the resultant House of Lords reform
—contributing a major voice in the contemporary public debate. The paper's reporters recorded a unique archive of speeches by Lloyd George, Churchill, Asquith and Campbell-Bannerman among others, as they toured the country in support of their cause.
, Mason Gaffney
, Michael Hudson
, the English High Court Judge Sir Kenneth Jupp, James Robertson
and (now former) Friends of the Earth
director Charles Secrett . Public figures interviewed in Land&Liberty in recent years include John Bird
, Bob Kiley
, Alastair McIntosh
, George Monbiot
and Steve Norris. Land&Liberty's original output is periodically taken up by the publishing mainstream.
, an independent economic and social justice think tank
and public education group. The Foundation and its immediate organisational predecessors have been proprietors since 1907, before which the magazine was owned by Scottish land reform groups.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
of popular political economics: its focus is the relationship between land and natural resource rights and 21st century economic policy. Published in the UK it covers international affairs and events from a global perspective.
The magazine contains major features, editorial and comment, news and reports, reviews, interviews and readers' letters.
Nature and focus of the magazine
Land&Liberty has no political alignment in the conventional sense. However the magazine is not editorially neutral on issues. Land&Liberty's key concern is how the global common wealth should be used, and it aims to demonstrate that this question is key to effective and just public policy—to the sustainable bridging of private life, the public sector and common resources. Land&Liberty's focus therefore is radical justice in property rights and taxation.Modern global influence
Land&Liberty forecast the 2008 global crisis and housing crash. In the middle of the economic optimism of 2004, it wrote: “There’s trouble ahead. A housing crash is coming.” Its 'Crash' cover story issue was published in the first week of September 2007, just days before the events at Northern Rock that caught the economic establishment unawares.Since the 1980s Land&Liberty has been an influence on the political opposition within Zimbabwe. In August 2008, the Movement for Democratic Change presented their political programme for the coalition government that they had entered into with the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front
Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front
The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front has been the ruling party in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, led by Robert Mugabe, first as Prime Minister with the party simply known as ZANU, and then as President from 1988 after taking over ZAPU and retaining the name ZANU-PF...
(ZANU-PF) party. It included a policy for raising public revenue from a tax on land values
Land value tax
A land value tax is a levy on the unimproved value of land. It is an ad valorem tax on land that disregards the value of buildings, personal property and other improvements...
, as advocated by Land&Liberty: “the MDC will through an Act of Parliament establish a Land Commission whose mandate is to…[i]ntroduce an equitable Land Tax”. The party’s Policy Coordinator General, Eddie Cross
Eddie Cross
Eddie Cross is a Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South, a renowned Zimbabwean economist and founder member of the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change party led by Morgan Tsvangirai. He is currently the Policy Coordinator General....
, wrote in a 2009 article in Land&Liberty that his party’s new policies would help ensure that “secure communities will become free communities with the capacity to confront and control those in charge of the state”.
History
Land&Liberty is the world's longest-running periodical advocating the social reform advanced by Henry GeorgeHenry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
—of whom Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
once said: “one cannot imagine a more beautiful combination of intellectual keenness, artistic form and fervent love of justice”.
Land&Liberty was launched in June 1894 under the title The Single Tax
The Single Tax
The Single Tax was a monthly newspaper launched in June 1894 and published in Glasgow by the Scottish Land Restoration Union. The periodical changed its name in June 1902 to Land Values, which subsequently became, in June 1919, the contemporary magazine Land&Liberty.According to its first and only...
, published as “The Organ of the Scottish Land Restoration Union”. Perhaps foreseeing George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
’s later remark, in 1928, that “the Single Taxers are not wrong in principle; but they are behind the times”, the periodical changed its title in 1902 to Land Values
Land Values
Land Values was the monthly newspaper precursor of the contemporary magazine Land&Liberty. The periodical started life in June 1894 as The Single Tax, changing its name to Land Values in June 1902....
and subsequently in 1919 to Land&Liberty.
Genesis
The periodical was initially the campaigning voice of the Scottish Land Restoration Union. The Union and its antecedents were a contemporary political force in Scotland, launching the career of Keir HardieKeir Hardie
James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, the first socialist elected to the UK Parliament, who went on to become the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's first leader. Inspired by Henry George, the Union's activism helped deliver—through its publication The Single Tax: "an American impulse behind the Scottish labor movement, which became historic in making the modern Labour party, and in forging the character of twentieth-century Britain." Yet within its first year—recording historic shudders in the evolution of British socialism and the birth of the Labour party—the magazine was writing: "what have the Labour Party to offer us? Anything or everything but the single tax.".
Early contributors
Early contributions to the magazine included original writing by Henry GeorgeHenry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
(including first publishings of private material), Arthur Withy
Arthur Withy
-Political activity:Born in England in 1870, Withy arrived in New Zealand in 1884. He was a journalist and prominent single-taxer and follower of Henry George...
, Louis F Post
Louis Freeland Post
Louis Freeland Post was the Assistant United States Secretary of Labor during the closing year of the Wilson administration, the period of the Palmer Raids and the Red Scare, where he had responsibility for the Bureau of Immigration.-Biography:Post opposed immigration restrictions and forcefully...
and Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
(again including first publishings of private material).
The magazine published its correspondence from around the world, such as from New Zealand's Patrick O'Regan
Patrick O'Regan
Patrick Joseph O'Regan was a Member of Parliament for Inangahua and Buller, in the South Island of New Zealand. He was later appointed to the Legislative Council.-Early life:...
, and enjoyed secondary publishing rights from writers and thinkers such as Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
and Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....
.
The twentieth century
Through the years Land&Liberty has reported on and contributed to the debate on major world events. It has provided analyses of, among other things, the 'Irish Problem', the Scottish crofting movement and the Highland Clearances, the genesis of two World Wars, the creation of the United Nations and the other global institutions, the formulation of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Europe's withdrawal from empire’s colonial project, and the middle east conflict.The paper reported extensively the events surrounding the 1909 UK People’s Budget, and the resultant House of Lords reform
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords which make up the Houses of Parliament. This Act must be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1949...
—contributing a major voice in the contemporary public debate. The paper's reporters recorded a unique archive of speeches by Lloyd George, Churchill, Asquith and Campbell-Bannerman among others, as they toured the country in support of their cause.
Recent writing
Recent contributors to Land&Liberty include former Danish MP and MEP Ib Christensen, Fred HarrisonFred Harrison (author)
Fred Harrison is a British author, economic commentator and corporate policy advisor, notable for his stances on land reform and belief that an over reliance on land, property and mortgage weakens economic structures and makes companies vulnerable to economic collapse...
, Mason Gaffney
Mason Gaffney
Mason Gaffney is an American economist and a major critic of Neoclassical economics from a Georgist point of view. He earned his B.A. in 1948 from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Gaffney first read Henry George's masterwork Progress and Poverty as a high school junior...
, Michael Hudson
Michael Hudson (economist)
Michael Hudson is research professor of economics at University of Missouri, Kansas City and a research associate at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College...
, the English High Court Judge Sir Kenneth Jupp, James Robertson
James Robertson (activist)
James Robertson , a British-born political and economic thinker and activist, became an independent writer and speaker in 1974 after an early career as a British civil servant....
and (now former) Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
director Charles Secrett . Public figures interviewed in Land&Liberty in recent years include John Bird
John Bird (entrepreneur)
John Bird MBE is a British social entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder of The Big Issue, a magazine that is edited by professional journalists and sold by street vendors affected by homelessness.-Early life:...
, Bob Kiley
Bob Kiley
Robert R. Kiley, better known as Bob Kiley, is a public transit planner and supervisor, with a reputation of being able to save transit systems experiencing serious problems...
, Alastair McIntosh
Alastair McIntosh
Alastair McIntosh is a Scottish writer, academic and activist.He was brought up in Leurbost on the Isle of Lewis and is married to Vérène Nicolas. He is involved with Scottish land reform especially on Eigg and campaigned successfully against the Harris superquarry in Lingerbay...
, George Monbiot
George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
and Steve Norris. Land&Liberty's original output is periodically taken up by the publishing mainstream.
Editors
- John Paul 1894-1933 (died in office)
- Arthur W Madsen 1933-1957 (died in office)
- Peter R Stubbings 1957-1961
- Vic Blundell 1961-1976 (retaining an editorial overview into the eighties)
- Ray B Linley 1976-1978
- Fred HarrisonFred Harrison (author)Fred Harrison is a British author, economic commentator and corporate policy advisor, notable for his stances on land reform and belief that an over reliance on land, property and mortgage weakens economic structures and makes companies vulnerable to economic collapse...
1978-2002 - Tony Vickers (Managing) with Ciaran Jennings (Editor) 2002
- Peter Gibb 2002-2009http://www.petergibb.net
- John TriggsJohn TriggsJohn Triggs is a British journalist and feature writer. He has written for a variety of different British national newspapers and magazines including the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Mail on Sunday, The Independent, and News of the World....
2010-
Publishers
Land&Liberty is published by the Henry George Foundation of Great BritainHenry George Foundation of Great Britain
The Henry George Foundation is an independent UK economic and social justice think tank and public education group concerned with "the development of sound relationships between the citizen, our communities and our shared natural and common resources"...
, an independent economic and social justice think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
and public education group. The Foundation and its immediate organisational predecessors have been proprietors since 1907, before which the magazine was owned by Scottish land reform groups.
- Scottish Land Restoration Union 1894-1897
- John Paul 1897-1901
- John Paul & Fred Verinder 1901-1904
- John Paul 1904-1933
- United Committee for the Taxation of Land Values 1933-1946
- Land & Liberty Press Ltd 1946-1986
- Land and Liberty International 1986-1996
- Henry George Foundation of GB LtdHenry George Foundation of Great BritainThe Henry George Foundation is an independent UK economic and social justice think tank and public education group concerned with "the development of sound relationships between the citizen, our communities and our shared natural and common resources"...
1996-
Proprietors
- Scottish Land Restoration Union 1894-1898/9
- Scottish Single Tax League 1898/9-1904
- Scottish League for the Taxation of Land ValuesScottish League for the Taxation of Land ValuesThe Scottish League for the Taxation of Land Valuesis an independent national campaigning organisation that advocates radical reform of Scotland's system of taxation. Known as The Scottish League, the organisation advances the programme of the nineteenth century American social reformer Henry George...
1904-1907 - United Committee for the Taxation of Land Values 1907-1991
- Centre for Incentive Taxation and The Henry George Institute (NY) 1991-1996
- Henry George FoundationHenry George Foundation of Great BritainThe Henry George Foundation is an independent UK economic and social justice think tank and public education group concerned with "the development of sound relationships between the citizen, our communities and our shared natural and common resources"...
1996-