If Henry George had created a system capable of withstanding a century of criticism in all its details, he would have been sui generis among social scientists and philosophers alike―not a mortal theorist but a veritable god. Contrary to what some people mistakenly believe, Georgism is not a cult. It may inspire deep loyalty and fervor, yet it maintains no establishment for the determination or preservation of orthodoxy, and many of its most ardent adherents are quick to point out their disagreements with the master. To be a Georgist in the larger sense does not mean subscribing to the notion that everything Henry George penned must be accepted as holy writ, or that no aspect of his system is open to question. To be a Georgist in this sense is just to believe that, in the main, on the most vital points, more than any other single social ethicist or political economist, George had it right. To recognize that some of his ideas are flawed does not destroy his stature as a thinker of the first magnitude whose economic methodology was, in fact, far more informed and sophisticated than is generally appreciated, and whose prescription for reform contains basic features that have enduring relevance.
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