Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2220

Review of CM&A published in Balanced Living, Vol. 14 No. 2

March 1958

 

 

Citadel, Market and Altar, by Spencer Heath; pp. 243; 1957, $6.00 from Science of Society, 1502 Montgomery Rd. Balti­more, Md.

 

Reviewed by M.J. Loomis

 

This excellent book needs a wide reading — especially by people concerned for the growth of freedom and individual re­sponsibility and the peaceful develop­ment of society. It stems from, and dev­elops, a new-old concept of land and con­tractual relationships. Would that I had given attention to Mr. Heath’s ideas long ago! I might have, except … (To make clear the reason, requires some informa­tion on the author and the reviewer).

When I began to look critically at the world and ask questions about how to improve it (not until after college) I en­tered what proved to be a series of study-and-action adventures. The first was in religion. When the big depression of the 30s occurred, I was teaching re­ligious education. To my dismay, I real­ized that I had no insight into, nor an­swer for, the wretched conditions of those days. Nor did any of the leaders of religion I knew and read. So I went into another movement — the cooperatives. I studied and worked hard at it. Soon I began to see that theirs was only a partial contribution to economic stabil­ity. By accident, in the late 30s, I found myself in a course on fundamental eco­nomics; text Henry George’s Progress and Poverty.

 

 Light from Henry George

 

 I found George’s book difficult, mostly because it required a shift in my think­ing. Contrary to my college teaching, Progress and Poverty put land and cap­ital in different categories. Why was this? Letters flew back and forth be­tween me and my college profs. on this subject. But George’s logic began to take root. Against the positions of my former profs., I finally saw the “truth” as George saw it: Land was different from man-made wealth; the rent of land was not produced by individual holders of land, but by the activity of people joint­ly. What more logical conclusions than George’s, that land-rent should be collect­ed and used by the government in lieu of taxes? Thus, unearned increment would not produce a wealthy class; everyone would keep his own wages, and economic imbalance and depression im­possible. With these ideas now firmly entrenched, I landed with both feet in the Georgist camp!

 

 In the late 30s, in the New York George School I was introduced to a man, who in mind, manner and appearance was “every inch a gentleman.” This was Spencer Heath, and a most interesting conversation followed. “No,” smiled Mr. Heath, “I am not Georgist.” I wasn’t wise enough to see just where he differed. And why bother? Since George was right, of course Mr. Heath must be wrong.

 

How Open A Closed Mind?

 

In the following years I received from Mr. Heath essays on esthetics, and ori­ginal Christmas cards of exquisite word­ing and printing. I wrote him disserta­tions on homesteading and normal living. But never much discussion of economics. Finally, late last year came his Citadel, Market and Altar, with reviews exclaim­ing over his imaginative concept of a really free society. One of our guests read it, and laid it aside with the com­ment, “Mr. Heath wants to revive feud­alism!”

 

I was too busy re-examining my ideas about government and maturing, to get into Mr. Heath’s book. I was trying to think with Don Werkheiser through a society of voluntary associations to re-place government. Often I would ask, “But how would one deal with the rent of land in a voluntary society? Isn’t a government necessary to collect econo­mic rent?”

 

 So these questions were near the sur­face when I started Mr. Heath’s new book. Now I found it exciting, neither fascist or feudalist. He explains a way for users and holders of land to provide public services, with people contracting for what they want, with the cost of these services covered by the rent of land. Those who say “Georgism is socialism,” or Georgists who are troubled by the need (in their system) to turn to a co­ercive agent (government) to allocate land sites and collect rent, will welcome Mr. Heath’s book. They will enjoy seeing how he thinks the citadel (government) can give way to a contractual market and advance the arts and culture (altar). Almost any reader will find it a test of his openness of mind.