A comprehensive history of Henry George and the single tax movement.

In 1912, Sun Yat-sen announced the birth of the Chinese Republic and promised that it would be devoted to the economic welfare of all its people. In shaping his plans for wealth redistribution, he looked to an American now largely forgotten in the United States: Henry George. In Land and Liberty, Christopher William England excavates the lost history of one of America's most influential radicals and explains why so many activists were once inspired by his proposal to tax landed wealth.

Drawing on the private papers of a network of devoted believers, Land and Liberty represents the first comprehensive account of this important movement to nationalize land and expropriate rent. Beginning with concerns about rising rents in the 1870s and ending with the establishment of New Deal policies that extended public control over land, natural resources, and housing, "Georgism" served as a catalyst for reforms intended to make the nation more democratic. Many of these concerns remain relevant today, including the exploitation of natural resources, rising urban rent, and wealth inequality.

At a time when class divisions sparked fears that capitalism and democracy were incompatible, hopes of building a social welfare state using the rents of idle landlords revitalized the middle class's conviction that democracy and liberty could be reconciled. Against steep odds, George made land nationalization vital to the politics of a nation dominated by small farmers and helped push liberalism leftward through his calls for collective rights to land and natural resources.

Aristotle's essential guide to human flourishing-the Nicomachean Ethics-in a lively new abridged translation

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is one of the greatest guides to human flourishing ever written, but its length and style have left many readers languishing. How to Flourish is a carefully abridged version of the entire work in a highly readable and colloquial new translation by Susan Sauve Meyer that makes Aristotle's timeless insights about how to lead a good life more engaging and accessible than ever before.

For Aristotle, flourishing involves becoming a good person through practice, and having a life of the mind. To that end, he draws vivid portraits of virtuous and vicious characters and offers sound practical advice about everything from eating and drinking to managing money, controlling anger, getting along with others, and telling jokes. He also distinguishes different kinds of wisdom that are essential to flourishing and offers an unusual perspective on how to appreciate our place in the universe and our relation to the divine.

Omitting Aristotle's digressions and repetitions and overly technical passages, How to Flourish provides connecting commentary that allows readers to follow the continuous line of his thought; it also features the original Greek on facing pages. The result is an inviting and lively version of an essential work about how to flourish and lead a good life.

How ancient Stoicism can help teach us to treat others-and ourselves-more fairly and mercifully

There are times when we've all felt that we haven't been treated as we deserve-that we've been misjudged, shortchanged, or given a raw deal. And, at one time or another, other people have probably felt that we've treated them just as unfairly. How to Do the Right Thing draws on the principles of ancient Stoicism as articulated by the Roman statesman and philosopher Seneca to help readers better navigate one of the most important practical questions of daily life-how to do right by others.

Starting from the virtue of magnanimity-the opposite of small-mindedness-How to Do the Right Thing draws together lessons from Seneca's writings that stress the importance of calm and clear thinking, of judging oneself fairly before judging others, and of cutting people slack, with a bias toward mercy-all delivered in crisp and lively new translations, and with the original Latin on facing pages.

Questioning the boundaries between politics and economics

Jean-Louis Laville's large body of work has focused on an intellectual history of the concept of solidarity since the Industrial Revolution. In The Solidarity Economy, his most famous distillation of this work, Laville establishes how the formations of economic solidarities (unions, activism, and other forms of associationalism) reveal that the boundaries between politics and economics are porous and structured such that politics, ideally a pure expression of ethics and values, is instead integrated with economic concerns.

Exploring the possibilities and long histories of association, The Solidarity Economy identifies the power of contemporary social and solidarity movements and examines the history of postcapitalist practices in which democratic demands invade the heart of the economy. The Solidarity Economy ranges in focus from workers associations in France dating back to the nineteenth century, to associations of African Americans and feminists in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, to a Brazilian landless-worker coalition in the twentieth century.

Studying solidarity associations over time allows us to examine how we can recombine the economic and political spheres to address dependencies and inequalities. Ultimately, The Solidarity Economy has global scope and inspiring examples of associations that deepen democracy.

Why do sugary beverage and fast food industries thrive in the emerging world?

An interesting public health paradox has emerged in some developing nations. Despite government commitment to eradicating noncommunicable diseases and innovative prevention programs aimed at reducing obesity and type 2 diabetes, sugary beverage and fast food industries are thriving. But political leaders in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia are reluctant to introduce policies regulating the marketing and sale of their products, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and the poor. Why?

In Junk Food Politics, Eduardo J. Gomez argues that the challenge lies with the strategic politics of junk food industries in these countries. Industry leaders have succeeded in creating supportive political coalitions by, ironically, partnering with governments to promote soda taxes, food labeling, and initiatives focused on public awareness and exercise while garnering presidential support (and social popularity) through contributions to government anti-hunger and anti-poverty campaigns. These industries have also manipulated scientific research by working with academic allies while creating their own support bases among the poor through employment programs and community services. Taken together, these tactics have hampered people's ability to mobilize in support of stricter regulation for the marketing and sale of unhealthy products made by companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle.

Drawing on detailed historical case studies, Junk Food Politics proposes an alternative political science framework that emphasizes how junk food corporations restructure politics and society before agenda-setting ever takes place. This pathbreaking book also reveals how these global corporations further their policy influence through the creation of transnational nongovernmental organizations that support industry views.

From the contributors to The Conversation, a compelling essay collection on the world's water crises and the necessary steps to build a more sustainable and equitable water future for all.

Water-related crises are affecting more and more communities, both in the United States and internationally. If we continue to delay upgrading our infrastructure and addressing rising environmental concerns, we risk further destabilizing already strained systems-or, worse, causing a catastrophic collapse. In The Conversation on Water, water scholar and professor Andrea K. Gerlak collects essays from The Conversation U.S. on critical issues related to water from leading experts in everything from public policy to environmental engineering.

Gerlak pays special attention to the threats facing our water systems today-covering insufficient infrastructure, climate change, and pollution-and integrates them with essays on technologies for harvesting water and Indigenous knowledge in governing the oceans. She then proposes solutions that present opportunities for hope and reform. From new partnerships and collaborative efforts to alternative governance practices and new scientific tools and community approaches, readers will learn about viable pathways forward and will understand the deep social and political dimensions of water governance. Understanding these challenges is the first step toward building a more sustainable and equitable water future for all.

The Critical Conversations series collects essays from top scholars on timely topics, including water, biotechnology, gender diversity, gun culture, and more, originally published on the independent news site The Conversation U.S.

Contributors: Roger Bales, Kevin Befus, Robert Blasiak, Ellen Bruno, Bethany Caruso, Sebastien Chastin, Craig E. Colten, Joseph Cook, Michelle DiBenedetto, Farshid Felfelani, Gabriel Filippelli, Michail Georgiou, Burke Griggs, Gary Griggs, Drew Gronewold, Marissa Grunes, Danielle Hare, Brian Haus, Dan Johnson, Carol Kwiatkowski, Rosalyn R. LaPier, Katharine Mach, Amahia Mallea, Daniel McCool, Jacob Miller-Klugesherz, Nobuhito Mori, Thomas Mortlock, Suzanne O'Connell, Itxaso Oderiz, Joseph D. Ortiz, Meg Parsons, Raquel Partelli-Feltrin, Yadu Pokhrel, Manzoor Qadir, Julie Reimer, Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos, Richard Rood, Asher Rosinger, Matthew R. Sanderson, Heidi Schweizer, Alan Seltzer, A. R. Siders, Rodolfo Silva-Casarin, Vladimir Smakhtin, Bruce Sutherland, Lara Taylor, Emily Ury, Ton Van den Bremer, Andrew J. Whelton