Progressive societies outgrow institutions as children outgrow clothes.
Henry GeorgeRead
The value of a thing is the amount of laboring or work that its possession will save the possessor.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The worth of an item is measured by how much effort it can save the owner.
This quote by Henry George suggests that the true value of any object or possession lies not in its physical characteristics or aesthetic appeal, but rather in the labor and effort it saves the owner. In a practical sense, it emphasizes that efficiency and utility define value in our lives, guiding us to make choices based on the potential time and work we can save rather than superficial prestige.
Themes
ValueLaborWorkEfficiencyPossession
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on economics, this quote can be referenced to explain concepts of value and labor.
More from Henry George
All quotes βThe march of invention has clothed mankind with powers of which a century ago the boldest imagination could not have dreamt.
Henry GeorgeRead
It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to serve.
Henry GeorgeRead
Poorly paid labor is inefficient labor, the world over.
Henry GeorgeRead
The protection of the masses has in all times been the pretense of tyranny - the plea of monarchy, of aristocracy, of special privilege of every kind. The slave owners justified slavery as protecting the slaves.
Henry GeorgeRead
So long as all the increased wealth which modern progress brings goes but to build up great fortunes, to increase luxury and make sharper the contrast between the House of Have and the House of Want, progress is not real and cannot be permanent.
Henry GeorgeRead
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