[Reprinted from Land and Freedom, September-October 1939]
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The gist of my argument, as set forth in the July-
August LAND AND FREEDOM, is that rent is a social product.
To that Mr. Willcox seems to have made no reply.
In the third paragraph (p. 136) it would have been a more
faithful restatement of George's position had Mr. Willcox
said that George subscribed to the idea that rent includes
payments for benefits which result from the presence
of population and social activities, as these conditions
are affected by the desirabilities of particular sites, whether
the latter be agricultural, mining, industrial, commercial,
or residential.
I suggest the following as food for thought: rent of
land is payment for social services social services are
in greatest demand where presence and activities of
population are greatest presence and activities of population are greatest on lands having highest capacity for
production, i.e., on lands of highest productivity or greatest
fertility therefore, rent of land depends upon and varies
with the different degrees of productivity.
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