Over the past several days communication has circulated regarding the history of the game of Monopoly and its creator, Elizabeth Magee Philipps, one of the first people to teach courses in political economy based on the writings of Henry George. This exchange took me back to 2014 and what was at the time hoped to be a new life for the building in Philadelphia the family of Henry George lived when Henry was born. From the 1950s until 2012 (as I recall) the building served as the Philadelphia extension of the Henry George School of Social Science. This was where I learned my Henry George and taught classes beginning in 1981 along with stalwarts such as George Collins, Richard Biddle, Mike Curtis (and a long list of others who came along at least for a time).
Some of you receiving this email may have been in attendance on that day, when in the courtyard behind the Henry George birthplace, I had the privilege of giving a talk on the state of the U.S. economy and offered the reasons why yet another financial and economic meltdown was inevitable as the nation reached 2026 and the end of the 18-year economic cycle.
Alex Lough started off the event with a wonderful description of the work in which she was engaged to renovate the building and digitize the some 10,000 documents associated with the movement started by Henry George he hoped would change the course of history in a positive direction. Mary Pilon followed Alex with Elizabeth Magee Philipps’ story and how Mary’s discovery of the role she played in the development of the game of Monopoly led to her wonderful book on the game’s history.
After my talk, we heard from Edward Nell, professor of economics at the New School in New York City. He spoke about reading about Henry George while an undergraduate student, not in economics but in a history course. He went on to talk about the usefulness of modern economic theory and the basis for how decisions are made by participants in the modern, industrialized economy.
I invite you to revisit what was said that day. Hopefully, you will agree with me that the time to do so will be well spent.
Ed Dodson