What Is Georgism?
Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that persons should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent… Part of the Libertarian family.
Definition
Georgism, in modern times also called Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that persons should own the value that they produce themselves, while the economic rent derived from land—including from all natural resources, the commons, and urban locations—should belong equally to all members of society.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Georgism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Land value tax.
- Free trade and private ownership of what people make.
- Sharing the value of land and natural resources.
Origins
United States, 1879, with Henry George's Progress and Poverty.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Henry George
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Georgism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 68 | toward market | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 24 | toward progressive | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 22 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 35 | near the center | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 19 | toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 78 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 33 | toward civil liberty |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 35 | near the center |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 28 | toward progressive |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 11 | strongly toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 35 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 47 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 19 | toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 17 | toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A strong leader who gets things done matters more than following proper procedures. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Green Liberalism, Georgism sits 12 points further toward nationalist on the national identity dimension.
- Compared with Constitutional Liberalism, Georgism sits 17 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
- Compared with Liberalism, Georgism sits 26 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Georgism.
Sources
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.