The second most purchased book after the Bible during the late 19th century, though it has now dissappeared from history, due to opposition by entrenched interests and being overshadowed by the far more populist ideologies of Marx.

George aims to develop a theory for why poverty seems to increase rather than decrease with further technological progress and industrialization. He builds up to the view that the capture of economic rent, in his time primarily through land ownership, is the primary culprit of poverty. Then he proposes a single land value tax as the ultimate solution to this problem.

Though George has since faced criticism due to the difficulty of implementing such a tax (best established by the Austrian school which came after him), his assertion that the LVT is the only thing needed to solve all problems, and his general utopianism, the core of his ideas stand the test of time and are especially prescient for the coming decades.

George writes well and takes a refreshingly thorough and first principled approach to economic questions. He can be verbose or repetitive at times, this book is probably best read for Volumes III, IV, VI, and VII, with Volumes I and II being rewarding for those curious to see his arguments against the dominant wage-capital fund and Malthusian beliefs of the time.