Nature, rent and the persistence of inequality: A Georgist political ecology

This paper develops a political ecology of the 19th century American political economist, Henry George. George was concerned with understanding the ‘enigma’ of why poverty and wealth exist side-by-side. For George, inequality was caused by the disproportionate growth of rent compared to wages and interest, and that poverty was an inevitable outcome of private ownership of land and ‘natural opportunities’ (understood broadly as ‘nature’). Despite the central relevance of these themes, Georgist theory has been overlooked in human geography. By reviewing George's work through the lens of key themes within the field, I argue that George's theories should be foundational to political ecology. In particular, his concept of rent provides a powerful framework for resisting the contemporary injustices of accumulation via ownership. Furthermore, his insistence on equal rights to nature offers an important basis in the struggle for environmental justice. The paper outlines the concept of nature in George's writings, and his particular historical materialist approach to political economy. I then consider how Georgist theory and politics can contribute to debates in environmental justice, the concept of rent and financialisation of nature, anti-racism and post-/de-colonisation, and environmental crisis. The paper ends by outlining a set of principles of a Georgist political ecology.