In this article, Henry George, a political economist , examines the root causes of poverty in United States. He calls poverty a social crime- imposed by the society on poor people. He holds the view that the vast majority of poor are not wholly responsible for their situation. Instead, it is the conditions inflicted by the society on them, that lands them into this vicious cycle of poverty, thus rendering them helpless.
The author appeals to logos by stating the point of land monopolisation as the root causes of poverty. He holds the view that land monopoly is an unequal distribution of land and it only gives benefits to those who acquire that land, whereas those who lives on it are considered no less than slaves. The author appeals to pathos (emotional quality) by stating the point that those who who extremely hard ought to be rich whereas those who do not believe in hard-work deserves to be poor. But, unfortunately, the order of nature is reversed and working class, who is hardworking, is considered as poor. Henry George appeals to ethos by stating that there is a need to take action against land monopoly, not by dividing the land , as it can only leads to conflicts, but by dividing the income that comes from land monopolies. Also, there is a need to abolish taxes, that rest on capital and raising all our public revenues by the taxation of land values.
The article holds great historical significance because it challenges the myth of individual blame for poverty, and rather place the whole blame on the flaws of the society, particularly monopolisation, that is , somehow, responsible for this widespread problem.
I find the article highly convincing . Henry George conveys his ideas in a very clear and descriptive manner and if we analyze carefully,his words are true to a large extent. It is not the individuals who need to be blamed for their poverty. Rather, it is the restrictions imposed by the society on them, that are responsible for the poverty crisis.
