A Note on Henry George’s Concept of Value from Obligation

John Pullen

History of Economics Review, 2011, vol. 53, issue 1, 44-54

Abstract: Henry George distinguished between value created by production and value created by what he called ‘obligation’. He argued that value from production adds to both individual wealth and common wealth; whereas value from obligation adds to individual wealth – that is, the wealth of an individual who has the power to impose the obligation on others – but not to common wealth. It merely redistributes wealth from one individual to another. He claimed that there are numerous examples of values being created by obligations, the principal example being the ownership of land. Although George’s concept of value from obligation leaves a number of questions unanswered, this paper argues that the concept remains a useful analytical tool that does not deserve to be neglected in the history of economic thought.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1080/18386318.2011.11682175

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