International Georgist Union's Website

The International Union

officially named:

The International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade

[Free Trade meaning: Trade freed from monopolies and privileges, and from regulations and restrictions except those protecting human Life, Health, Equal Rights and the Environment (More details: Click here!)]

and subtitled:

The International Georgist Union

focuses on the fact that:

Crowds of People live in misery and distress, though

- Nature is rich and generous !

- Mankind is able to fulfil any want !

- Capital for investments exists in plenty !

Wealth is in abundance, but -

The number of poor people is increasing worldwide, and

The gap between rich and poor people expands- everywhere; both in rich and in poor countries.

The cause of this is

A GREAT INEQUITY

- that neither "Planned Economics" nor "Economic Privatisation" have managed to sort out;

- that Charities and Social Security Benefits are able to mitigate, but cannot eliminate;

- that Political Equal Rights and Personal Equal Rights are insufficient to solve.

The followers of the International Union claim for the purpose of ending the GREAT INEQUITY and the troubles it causes, that

People need also Economic Equal Rights

to the values of Nature and Society,

which claim is based on the conviction that:

· Human beings are born with equal rights to life and freedom including

equal rights to the gifts of Nature and to the advantages of Society.

They express this by the allegations that:

· Natural resources are the Common Heritage of all human beings, and the values of natural resources are Common Property belonging to all citizens on an equal footing;

· Society provides advantages that are vital to human beings too. These advantages are those not created by any individual person or by a specific group of individuals, but created by the citizens' synergetic co-operation and by the citizens’ government and its administration’s planning, building and maintaining infrastructure, running public works and services, enforcing law and order, etc.

Therefore, the values of advantages of society are also Common Property belonging to all citizens on an equal footing;

which lead to the assertions that:

· Holders of Exclusive Rights to use valuable sites or other advantages of nature and/or society, owe all citizens fair Compensation for their encroachment of the citizens’ equal rights to the values of Common Properties.

· Exclusion of people from free use of Common Properties without paying equivalent compensation to those excluded maintains the Great Inequity and violates the principle of Economic Equal Rights for all citizens.

The followers of the International Union urge for eradication of the bad effects of monopolies and privileges and require abolition of monopolies and privileges as far as that is possible unless they are part of a scheme that protects human beings’ lives, health or the environment; the bad effects of remaining monopolies/ privileges should be checked by 1) public collection of the market-determined rental value of the monopolies/ privileges, and 2) use of the revenue for the betterment of all citizens on an equal footing.

The result - when the bad effects of monopolies and privileges are exterminated - will be that Economic Equal Rights replace the Great Inequity, and the change will take effect in democracies when the majority of citizens

- understand that they are the rightful owners of Common Properties on an equal footing with their fellow citizens;

and they

- loud, clearly and persistently demand that their Government on their behalf enacts and enforces:

Õ Public collection - from the holders of exclusive rights to use Common Properties - of the market-determined highest annual amounts that some are willing to pay for taking over or keeping the exclusive rights in question; and

Õ Use of the revenue for the betterment of all citizens on an equal footing.

The use of the revenue for the betterment of all citizens on an equal footing may be effectuated in different ways, either:

1. by financing commonly needed New Public Tasks such as installation, expansion or maintenance of infrastructure, public education, health service, transport systems, water supply, waste water disposal, etc. (some people would call this the socialistic model); or

2. by equal distribution - an equal Citizens Dividend - to all citizens having citizenship to the country in question whatever the citizenship has been obtained by birth or by naturalization (some people would call this the libertarian model); or

3. by reduction or abolition of taxes on anything else but exclusive use of Common Properties (Ÿdots above); which will Lift the Deadweight off the economy (this is a model proposed by economists); or

4. by a combination of above mentioned 1, 2, and/or 3.

Whatever the choice will be 1 or 2 or both, it will End the Great Inequity and all

the citizens will enjoy their Equal Rights to the values of Common Property

The result of using 2 will also be that most of the need for social security benefit will ease off, the need for public expenses will decline, and the government will be enabled to reduce taxes, tariffs and imposts on other things than exclusive use of Common Properties.

This will make life easier in the society, less poverty, more dignity, stronger feeling of citizens’ fellowship, strengthened democracy, less crime; it will increase the value of life and of the society, and that will increase the revenue of public collection of the values of exclusive rights to use Common Properties.

When 3 has been carried through, maybe as a result of use of 2, or of 1 and 2 in combination, to complete abolition of taxes, tariffs and imposts of every sort on anything else but exclusive rights to use of Common Properties,

the citizens will enjoy also Individual Rights to the Full Results of their Lawful Exertions

- - -

When the Great Inequity is abolished the market is freed from the bad effects of monopolies and privileges, and all citizens enjoy Equal Economic Rights, all this achieved because holders of Exclusive Rights to use Common Property pay the annual values of exclusive rights to the Government who uses the revenue for the betterment of all citizens on an equal footing, then

All citizens - including Wage Earners - will enjoy the Advantages of Competition !

Without suffering from previous disadvantages !

Therefore the followers of the International Union propose that:

When holders of exclusive rights pay to the public purse the excess profit to be used for the betterment of all citizens on an equal footing, then Domestic and Foreign Trade and Industry shall be encouraged to compete as efficiently and freely as possible within the frames of restrictions that prevent from:

- damaging nature (and its power of regeneration);

- injuring human beings’ health or lives;

- capturing for their private use publicly created values; and

- withholding excess profit accruing from the Common Properties (the Ÿdots above).

Consequently people with GREEN ATTITUDE to economics, production and trade will find that Competition in a market freed from the bad effects of monopolies and privileges and kept within the frames of green regulations, will:

- reduce Waste of resources - also reduce use of “greenfield” rural land;

- increase Usefulness of used resources - also increase use of “brownfield” urban land.

The advantages of competition will be supported to the utmost by:

Abolition of as many monopolies and privileges as possible and

Public Collection of the rental values of tolerated monopolies and privilege.

The followers of the International Union want to establish

a market without bad effects of monopolies and privileges, and with competition as free as possible within the frame of enforced regulation that efficiently protects Human Beings and the Environment

by measures listed in the following short lines:

> Freeing the market from monopolies and privileges so far as this is possible;

> Public collection of the potential excess profit of tolerated monopolies and privileges, and use of the revenue for the betterment of all citizens on an equal footing.

> Lifting the deadweight from economics by abolition of taxes on anything else but the potential excess profit of tolerated monopolies and privileges;

> Abolition of restrictions and regulations of industry and trade unless they are protecting human beings’ lives, health, equal rights or the environment;

> Enforcement of restrictions and regulations that protect human beings’ lives, health, equal rights and the environment.

The above > marked means - working in concert - will increase the potential Excess profit of exclusive rights to use Common Properties and provide revenue big enough to finance all public activities that benefit the citizens, instead of today’s taxes that hamper production and cause Deadweight on Economics.

Then the Excess profit of exclusive right to use or hold Common Properties will benefit all citizens instead of benefiting only the holders of valuable monopolies/ privileges.

Then the citizens will enjoy Economic Equal Rights which they have never enjoyed before.

Then productive investors and productive manpower will get and be allowed to keep for their own use the total rewards for their participation in supplying demanded goods and services.

Then it will be easy to solve the remaining, serious problems of the society.

What followers of the IU have done - and are doing

The followers of these ideas - briefly described above - have in detail explained their expectations and how they may be implemented in a wide range of websites, magazines, books, reports, papers, declaration, etc., a selection of which you may choose among from the MENU at the end of this front page.

The views and assertions referred to above are founded on ideas that have been considered through centuries by many philosophers and economists, both living and dead. The most popular expression of these ideas was explained in the works of the journalist, philosopher and economist Henry George who lived in the United States of America in the 19^th century.

These ideas have been proposed to politicians and administrators, and partially implemented in many countries; everywhere they have been attacked and often been watered down or destroyed by influential people of wealth and privileges and their supporters, who benefited, and still benefit, by collecting and withholding commonly created values for themselves.

The book Land-Value Taxation around the World describes where and how these ideas have been used and where and how they are working today. The 3^rd edition edited by Dr. Robert V Andelson was published in December 2000 and is available from the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, Click here - and wait a while! Bookshops are supposed to order from the publisher Blackwell Publishers, Click here! In several countries the book is also available from local public libraries on demand.

People who support the above-mentioned ideas are commonly called Georgists, and they make the ideas more widely known by individual activity or together with others through Think Tanks, Research Groups, Information Centres, Publishing, Education, etc., and/or they are funding these endeavours by Legacies and Donations.

- - -

Georgists around the world, assembled at a Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1926, established

The International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade

(See the Discussion on Free Trade, Click here!)

and in 1997 they adopted the subtitle:

The International Georgist Union.

The International Union holds conferences at 2-4 years intervals at different places around the world.

The Union is accredited to the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) and has been so since 1993.

In 2003 the Union was granted with Special Consultative Status by the UNs' Economic and Social Council (called ECOSOC, see http://www.un.org/aboutun/mainbodies.htm).

In 2006 Land Value Taxation/Capture (LVT/C) became a formal and official project with the United Nations’ Habitat called Global Land Tool Network GLTN LVT/C Project Announcement (Click here!).

To see details about UN-Habitat GLTN LVT/C Project

See more about GLTN LVT/C Project - Interview with Alanna Hartzok

Look at the GlobalLandToolNetwork - Introductory Brochure

About the eUN’s Millennium Development Goals’ MDG

In the beginning of 2007 the International Union is joined by members in 32 countries around the world. 75 organizations are corporate members. Find their addresses and other details via the MENU below, go to the headline THE INTERNATIONAL UNION and click on ADDRESSES.

Membership of the International Union is open to individuals and organizations that agree with the Objects of the Union and are approved by the Executive Committee. Voting members pay an annual subscription.

Organizations, groups, societies, etc., who may not wish to vote, can declare their ideological affiliation to the Objects of the International Union and join without any subscription or other obligation.

For further information: Choose from the following MENU and Click on your choice:

· PRESENTATION - about this website

ACTIVITIES:

· Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) - a UN Habitat project

· Discussion about the SIZE of Rent of Land

· Discussion about Monopolies and Privileges

· Discussion about FREE TRADE

· Other WEBSITES - about Actions and Proposals.

· NEWSLETTERS and MAGAZINES about News and Attitudes.

· PUBLISHERS of Books of relevance to the ideas.

· OPEN LETTER to Pope John Paul II.

· GREEN POLICY PAPERS.