Progress and Poverty
Progress and Poverty by Henry Georgeby Henry George
Ranked 3 of 19 economics books by recommenders
People recommend it as an accessible explanation of how capitalism and land values work, and as a book whose ideas still hold up for the modern economy.
People recommend it as an accessible explanation of how capitalism and land values work, and as a book whose ideas still hold up for the modern economy.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear for non-economists
“I recommend you read “progress and poverty” to get a better understanding of it.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “California is chasing wealth that has feet” “the book Progress and Poverty by Henry George is pretty accessible”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Foreign business owners are scrambling to raise capital to stay in Japan” “made capitalism itself legible enough to me”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “iPhone Duo” Proposes a concrete solution
“Henry George wrote down exactly what to do 130 years ago”
Comment from 12 Feb 2026 in “Fixing retail with land value capture” “The book Progress and Poverty argues this.”
Comment from 22 May 2026 in “How to convert between wealth and income tax” “For the solution, read Henry George!”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Bible as RAG Database” Ideas still hold up
“It's a really incredible book, and I think you may be surprised the elegance with which it still "handles" a modern economy.”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “Working on Economics with Fable 5” “His 'land theory of everything' predicted continued increasing rents, decreasing interest rates, low real wages”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “The Cost of Owning a Home”
Other economics books people recommend
The four most recommended other economics books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital in the Twenty-First Centuryby Thomas Piketty | 12 | 6 | 67% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Why Nations Failby Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson | 9 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
| Progress and Povertyby Henry GeorgeThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Free to Chooseby Milton Friedman | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalismby Vladimir Il’ich Lenin | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I recommend you read “progress and poverty” to get a better understanding of it.”
“made capitalism itself legible enough to me”
“It's a really incredible book, and I think you may be surprised the elegance with which it still "handles" a modern economy.”
“it is a head-and-shoulders better read”
“For the solution, read Henry George!”
“the book Progress and Poverty by Henry George is pretty accessible”
“His 'land theory of everything' predicted continued increasing rents, decreasing interest rates, low real wages”
“The book Progress and Poverty argues this.”
“Henry George wrote down exactly what to do 130 years ago”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.