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Teaching Henry George via
Correspondence |
| [Reprinted from The
Freeman, January, 1941] |
Some time ago I answered a call for volunteers and found myself in the
correspondence course department. What a fascinating adventure It turned
out to be! I had always associated the educational work of the School
with classrooms and teachers. To my amazement I discovered that the
School was carrying on an equally ambitious program without benefit of
classes, or of any instructor save Henry George himself.
I was gradually introduced to hundreds and hundreds of correspondence
students. In meeting them I found myself learning more and more about
PROGRESS AND POVERTY, from people in all walks of life, from places I
had never heard of, students utterly diversified in background, humble,
incredulous, but above all passionate to learn.
There is something stimulating in the fresh, vigorous approach of the
correspondence student. He cannot be led or driven. He is in it because
he wants to be. From the sidewalks of New York to a mission in China,
from the arctic plains' of the Yukon to the tropical valleys of South
America, students are delving into fundamental principles.
Doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief!
The writer of that jingle bad nothing on the roster of enrolled
correspondence students. From every occupation and every social stratum
comes new and inspiring evidence that the principles of Henry George are
being absorbed in the thought of men and women. From cities and
villages, from factories and offices, from the Army, from West Point,
from Hollywood, from penal institutions, from schools and shops and
homes come students who are all seeking truth and understanding. One can
almost visualize them as one handles their papers. And because of their
sameness of purpose one develops a sort of kinship with the waitress in
Winnepeg, the refugee in Richmond, the barber in Bolivia. Only something
basic could bring together men so far apart in place and temperment.
To those Georgists who feel discouragement the correspondence course
enrollment should be a source of inspiration and comfort. Georgism is
reaching out; it is growing, and as it grows it gathers momentum. No
matter how remote the goal may seem, we must attain it if we continue to
go forward.
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