Henry George School of Social Science

Overview

The Henry George School of Social Science (HGSSS) was founded in New York City in 1932 by Oscar H. Geiger, a scholar who "saw the need for a wider popular understanding of political economy," and was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.[1][2] It emerged in the aftermath of the Great Depression, as part of a reform movement seeking to advance the land value tax (or single tax) that George had argued for in Progress and Poverty.[3] It provides free courses in political economy taught from a Georgist perspective, and has operated for more than ninety years, with branches and affiliates across the United States and internationally.

History

From its New York base the School spread quickly: the first Chicago class was held in 1934, taught by Henry L. T. Tideman, who also trained volunteer instructors; through the 1930s and 1940s classes ran in libraries, park field houses, and community halls.[2] The School's early decades were chronicled by its longtime director Robert Clancy in "The Henry George School's First Twenty-Five Years" (1957), which recorded the institution entering "its second quarter-century" as a vehicle for teaching George's philosophy.[4] The School maintains a historical archive of its records dating from 1932.[5]

Role

The School's mission is educational: to make accessible the analysis of land, rent, and taxation that George set out in Progress and Poverty. It offers introductory and advanced courses, webinars, and public lectures, and has introduced generations of students and activists to Georgist economics. Free tuition reflects the movement's belief that economic understanding should not itself be gated.

Significance

Alongside research bodies like the Lincoln Institute and the Schalkenbach Foundation, the Henry George School is the principal educational institution sustaining the Georgist tradition — and it was among the member bodies coordinated by the Council of Georgist Organizations.

See Also

• Robert Schalkenbach Foundation — the movement's principal publishing body
• Henry George — the economist whose ideas the School teaches
• Progress and Poverty — George's 1879 book at the centre of the curriculum
• Council of Georgist Organizations — the umbrella body the School was affiliated with

Sources

1. Henry George School of Social Science — official site, "About Us." hgsss.org/about-us — used for the School's founding in the aftermath of the Great Depression and its free-tuition educational mission.
2. Henry George School of Social Science, Chicago, "About." hgchicago.org/about — used for the 1932 New York founding by Oscar H. Geiger, the charter by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, and the 1934 first Chicago class taught by Henry L. T. Tideman.
3. Henry George School, "About Us" (as above) — used for the School's origin within a reform movement advancing the land value / single tax of Progress and Poverty.
4. Robert Clancy, "The Henry George School's First Twenty-Five Years" (originally "Five and Twenty Years"), Henry George News, January–April 1957. cooperative-individualism.org — used for the School's first-quarter-century history and Clancy's account.
5. Henry George School Archives, "The Henry George School of Social Science Collection, 1932–present." hgarchives.org — used for the existence and dating (1932–present) of the School's institutional archive.