LABOR AND FREE TRADE – COURSE PART 1
Session 5

Labor and Free Trade – Contextualizing Henry George’s Work on Tariffs

Henry George subtitled his *Protection or Free Trade* with “Special Regard to the Interests of Labor.” Yet this book and George’s stance on free trade alienated both the unions and the Irish immigrant workers who had been his core supporters. Today, the book is popular with conservatives and neolibertarians as a defense of conventional free-trade policies.

In this course, Dan Sullivan argues that George’s message was not wrong, but that its presentation was certainly not the best way to reach labor. This is illustrated by his writing 18 chapters promoting conventional free-trade ideas before addressing the actual concerns of labor, and his failure to define what he was actually advocating until chapter 26, “True Free Trade.”

The course begins by presenting the background context and leads a discussion of the book beginning with Chapter 26, before going through all the other chapters from 19 onward to clearly establish labor’s interests. Only after grounding the reader in labor’s real interests shall we go back and examine the first 18 chapters.

Note: This is a two-part course of five sessions each to be offered online through Zoom Videoconferencing. Attendees could connect via computer or portable devices (IOS, Android or Windows). We recommend downloading and testing the application prior to the course starting date.


THIS IS AN ONLINE COURSE

Dates: Saturdays – 6/1, 6/8, 6/15, 6/22, 6/29 (Part I)

9/7, 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, 10/5 (Part II)

Time: 12:00 PM, ET

Instructor: Dan Sullivan, Executive Director of Saving Communities, President of the Council of Georgist Organizations

How to join the event online:

To join Zoom Meeting, download Zoom and click the link below. You may also use your web browser. Alternatively you can participate via telephone but the application is recommended.

https://zoom.us/j/963999585
This event will be recorded. By participating in this event you are consenting to being recorded.

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Meeting ID: 766 948 5877

Please feel free to call us a 212 889 8020 if you need help. Thank you !


References

Those who are interested in getting ahead of the discussion can look at the following links:

http://www.savingcommunities.org/docs/powderly.terence/30years08.html#cure-all

Terence Powderly asks to focus on land value tax and take on protectionism only after the land tax victory is won. This link takes the reader to that specific passage in a chapter of is book entirely dedicated to George’s other proposals.

https://vimeo.com/48893598

Maria Mazzenga and Dan Sullivan on the interactions between Henry George, Terence Powderly, Father Edward McGlynn and the Catholic Church. (video).

https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1652#George_0448_620

Protection or Free Trade, chapter 26, “True Free Trade.”

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    Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW

  • 2025-05-12 6:30 pm - 2025-05-12 8:00 pm

    From an Aristocratic to a Democratic Worldview: The Potential Transformation of Environmental Economics by Georgism

    The environmental perspective arose in Europe out of an aristocratic background, and it continues to be swayed by that history. From Thomas Malthus, economics inherited a very strong sense of the scarcity of nature. Since common lands in England were under the control of aristocrats, they considered it their mission to preserve nature for the enjoyment of future generations of aristocratic families. Almost every nature program on television promotes this worldview of pristine nature being damaged by the activities of common people and being preserved by the nobility. The story of Robin Hood emerged as a counter-narrative, but the economics profession turned it into a morality lesson that celebrates the sheriff of Nottingham.

    This 10-session course will examine how the aristocratic perspective persists as the shadow side of environmental economics in its treatment of common property, the valuation of natural goods, the treatment of people as costs or sources of destruction, an urban bias that denigrates rural life, an indifference to both equity and efficiency, and the critique of economic growth. The course will also analyze how Georgism can serve as the antidote by democratizing claims to nature. The course will further highlight the work of early thinkers like Aldo Leopold and their perception of nature as something of intrinsic value that transcends human ambitions.

    The instructor, Clifford Cobb is the thematic editor, American Journal of Economics and Sociology. He is best known as the developer of the Genuine Progress Indicator, published by the San Francisco organization, Redefining Progress.

    Dates: Mondays – 3/03, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/07, 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 5/19

    Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW

  • 2025-05-19 6:30 pm - 2025-05-19 8:00 pm

    From an Aristocratic to a Democratic Worldview: The Potential Transformation of Environmental Economics by Georgism

    The environmental perspective arose in Europe out of an aristocratic background, and it continues to be swayed by that history. From Thomas Malthus, economics inherited a very strong sense of the scarcity of nature. Since common lands in England were under the control of aristocrats, they considered it their mission to preserve nature for the enjoyment of future generations of aristocratic families. Almost every nature program on television promotes this worldview of pristine nature being damaged by the activities of common people and being preserved by the nobility. The story of Robin Hood emerged as a counter-narrative, but the economics profession turned it into a morality lesson that celebrates the sheriff of Nottingham.

    This 10-session course will examine how the aristocratic perspective persists as the shadow side of environmental economics in its treatment of common property, the valuation of natural goods, the treatment of people as costs or sources of destruction, an urban bias that denigrates rural life, an indifference to both equity and efficiency, and the critique of economic growth. The course will also analyze how Georgism can serve as the antidote by democratizing claims to nature. The course will further highlight the work of early thinkers like Aldo Leopold and their perception of nature as something of intrinsic value that transcends human ambitions.

    The instructor, Clifford Cobb is the thematic editor, American Journal of Economics and Sociology. He is best known as the developer of the Genuine Progress Indicator, published by the San Francisco organization, Redefining Progress.

    Dates: Mondays – 3/03, 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/07, 4/14, 4/28, 5/12, 5/19

    Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET

    Location: Online via Zoom

    Note: This is an online event. After registration, the Zoom link, along with the Meeting ID and Passcode, will be provided via email the day of each session.

    REGISTER NOW