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Comment by mlinksva | Hacker News Reader

I've read Progress and Poverty and much more by still living Georgists (eg Polly Cleveland and Mason Gaffney). I'm pro-LVT.

Your response however typifies one reason I'd never call myself a Georgist -- people who call themselves such come off as believing they've discovered the single truth that obtains social salvation, ie religious nuts -- who need to dump that single truth on people they encounter at the first opportunity. Seriously, if you want to be effective, and I want you to be, please tone it down.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience in the fist 3 sentences of your comment. That's what I was hoping to learn!

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> Your response however typifies one reason I'd never call myself a Georgist -- people who call themselves such come off as believing they've discovered the single truth that obtains social salvation, ie religious nuts -- who need to dump that single truth on people they encounter at the first opportunity. Seriously, if you want to be effective, and I want you to be, please tone it down.

What? Of places to share one's enthusiasm for Georgism, there are few more appropriate than in an internet thread about a Georgist town they're a resident of, after explcitly being asked for references.

Citing Progress and Poverty when asked about adding references to Wikipedia about the history of a Georgist town strikes me as like citing the Bible when asked about adding referenes to Wikipedia about the history of a Christian town -- and it's available on audiotape! Of no use other than identifying oneself as a true believer.

It’s likely that they weren’t responding to your question about Wikipedia.

Your other question, “Did you move for your passion, or did you learn your passion from living there?”, suggests unfamiliarity yet genuine interest in the topic. So, their response makes total sense.

However, if that Christian town was founded with the explicit intent to reflect some passage of the Bible it makes sense to add references, don’t you think?

fair enough! and not easy. My grandparents, remarkably, were subtle and much more patient than I am.

I do not believe that HG's ideas will solve all our problems, but I do believe that recognition of what he saw and enactment of his recommendation will put us on the road to solving a lot of problems that are generally regarded as unsolvable -- housing affordability and supply, poverty, sprawl, pollution, water shortage, wealth concentration, money in politics, better cities among others. Necessary, though not sufficient. And it is frustrating that so few people are even remotely familiar with the ideas.

Two of my favorite recent books on the subject are "The Mason Gaffney Reader: Essays toward Solving the Unsolvable" and Walt Rybeck's "Re-Solving the Economic Puzzle."

I think there are solutions, and want others to have the chance to consider them!

Thanks for he response. I don't see any of the problems you list as being generally regarded as unsolvable. There are lots of solutions for each that have nothing to do with LVT. I agree that widespread implementation of LVT would help with many of those problems, but claiming that they are regarded as unsolvable or that LVT is necessary to solve them doesn't make you seem very credible. Anyway, I agree that's it's frustrating that more people aren't aware that LVT could help.

My favorite LVT-influenced person is Donald Shoup. He doesn't talk much about LVT, but is making as big a positive difference on land policy as anyone -- in the US/English language anyway; I hope there are people informed by LVT theory making a bigger difference elsewhere, probably China.

> if you want to be effective, and I want you to be, please tone it down

I really have no idea what you're talking about. LVTfan's answer certainly displayed enthusiasm, but to me it stopped well short of fanaticism.

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