Preface to the book

Social Problems
by Henry George

Leo Tolstoy

[Preface to the Russian language edition of Henry George's book Social Problems]

In one of the last chapters of his book, Henry George says: -- "To those who have never studied the subject, it will seem ridiculous to propose as the greatest and most far-reaching of all reforms a mere fiscal change. But whoever has followed the train of thought through which in preceding chapters I have endeavoured to lead, will see that in this simple proposition is involved the greatest of social revolutions -- revolution compared with which that which destroyed ancient monarchy in France or that which destroyed chattel slavery in our Southern States, were as nothing."-[Social Problems, xix.]

It is precisely this enormous importance of the revolution proposed by Henry George which hitherto people have failed to understand and recognise. The chief reason of this is, that people either misrepresent his idea, or ignore it. Henry George's idea seems to most men to be merely one of those systems for amending the Jaw of land-ownership, such as is frequently conceived under the form of Land Nationalisation in the socialistic sense.

Men who fancy themselves erudite oppose this limited conception of Henry George's idea, either by boldly disputing what Henry George never said or by urging as arguments against him those assumptions, -- incontestable in their own minds, -- about the existing order of things, which Henry George has radically refuted. As for unlearned persons, -- society people, land-owners, and wealthy men in general,-having no acquaintance at all with Henry George, but dimly apprehending that he wants anyhow to dispossess the present proprietors, and feeling through their instinct of conservative self-preservation how his theory menaces themselves, they boldly deny it, though having at the most a distorted conception of it: -- "I know; I know; To tax the land, in order that the landowners, who are already quite crushed by taxes, shall pay a land-tax in addition." Or: -- "I know; I know; It is to make the landowner pay a tax on all the improvements he may put into his land."

And now, thirty years have gone by since the clear, all-sided and most fundamental explanation of this great thought, -- and still it remains altogether unknown to the great majority of people.

But it could not be otherwise. Henry George's scheme, which overturns the whole order of life of the nations for the benefit of the crushed, voiceless majority and to the prejudice of the ruling minority, is set forth with such convincing and irrefutable arguments, and, above all, so simply, that it is impossible not to understand it. And having once understood, one cannot help trying to carry it into effect. Therefore, there is but one remedy against it: -- and that is, to misrepresent it, or to ignore it. Both methods have been applied to Henry George's theory for over thirty years -- with such success that it is difficult to induce people to read attentively what he has actually written, and to think about it.

It is true that there exist in England, Canada, the United States, and in Germany various periodicals advocating the single tax, which are very good, though they have a pitiably small circulation; but amongst most men of the educated classes the ideas of Henry George remain, still unknown, and the indifference to them seems tending even to increase.

Society treats ideas which break in upon its privacy, -- and such is the idea of Henry George, -- as the bee deals with noxious grubs. Being unable to exterminate them, the bee coats their nests with lime; thus the grubs, though not exterminated, are unable to spread further and to do harm.

In a similar manner the societies of the European peoples treat such ideas as are prejudicial to their order -- or to their habitual disorder, -- including that of Henry George and his supporters.

But "the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not." A truthful, fruitful idea cannot be exterminated. Stifle it as much as you like, it will always be living, more living than all those obscure, empty, pedantic thoughts and words by means of which it is being stifled; and sooner or later the truth will burn through the veils by which it is hidden, and will begin to light the whole world. -- Such is the idea of Henry George.

And, methinks, just now is its time,-just now, and just in Russia. Just now, because there is now taking place in Russia a revolution, a serious one, which has but one basis: the denial by the whole people -- the real people -- of individual land-ownership. -- Just in Russia, because there always existed, and exists to this day among the vast majority of the Russian people, the fundamental idea of Henry George: -- that the land is the common property of all men, and that the land only can be taxed, not men's labour.

Henry George says in the same book: That the conversion of all taxes into rent is nothing but a conforming of the most important [social] adjustments to natural laws. He says that the idea that land value (i.e. rent) should be utilised for the benefit of the entire community is as natural for the community as it is natural for men to walk on their feet and not on their hands.

It is this idea that the whole Russian agricultural people not only shared but put into practice, so long as they were not prevented by the violence of the government.

In the seventies, the statistician Orloff wrote about the relation of the peasants to the land as follows: --

"…A 'taxed soul' means, in the peasants' conception, the same thing as a certain share "of the 'nadel' [land granted to the peasants at emancipation]. A 'taxed soul' is, in the original opinion of the peasants, inconceivable without land; -- more than that, the 'soul' is, properly speaking, a certain share of the 'mire's' [commune's] land charged with a corresponding portion of the 'mir's' payments. …With the 'mir's' land are also connected absolutely all the payments due by the community according to the tax-lists, by whatever name they may be called, and for whatever institutions they may be destined." -

In these few words lies the essential point of the Russian people's relation to land and to taxes; and this relation is just the same as that preached and proposed by Henry George.

This relation does not mean (as people usually imagine about Henry George's theory) that it is a question merely of redistributing the land, but rather of assuring to every man full security for the produce of his labour and a full equal possibility of enjoying all the advantages which the land gives. Such is the Russian people's view of Labour and of right to the land.

Therefore, while it is easy to understand that European peoples, who see in the realisation of Henry George's idea the destruction of the whole established order, … are bound to treat Henry George's theory with hostility and silence, yet amongst us in Russia, where nine-tenths of the population consists of agriculturists, and where this theory is but the conscient expression of what has always been acknowledged as justice by the whole Russian people, -- amongst us it is natural (especially during the present reconstruction of social conditions) that this idea should be put into practice, and achieve by a great act of justice that revolution, which is being directed in so erroneous and guilty a manner.

Of all the excellent books, speeches and articles by Henry George, this book is undoubtedly the best in its conciseness and clearness, in the strict logic of the statements, in the conclusiveness of the scientific arguments, in the beauty of the style, and in the sincere and deep feeling of love for truth, for goodness, and for mankind, which permeates it.