104
THE ABCOF TAXATION
let there be heard the voice of the Christian Church,
as found in the doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas when
he says:
Human law is law only in virtue of its accordance with right
reason, and it is thus manifest that it flows from the eternal
law. And in so far as it deviates from right reason it is called
an unjust law. In such case it is not law at all, but rather a
species of violence.
This is reiterated in the teachings of the Catholic
Church, notably in the Encyclical of Pope Leo XI11.
on the Condition of Labour, and is referred to in the
following quotation from a prominent Catholic priest:
As to all property, land included, the Pope lays down the
law of the Church in this comprehensive sentence; “The right
to possess property is from nature, not from man; and the State
has only the right to regulate its use in the interests of the public
good, but by no means to abolish the right to possess it altogether.
The State is, therefore, unjust and cruel, if in the name of
taxation, it deprives the private owner of more than is just.”
It follows from this declaration that if the single tax theory
as presented by its advocates aims at no more than to “regulate”
the right of property in land “in the interests of the public
good,” and not “to abolish it altogether,” or to take away
from the private owner of land, “in the name of taxation,” more
than is just,* surely such a proposal is not condemnable on
ethical grounds.
Now, if 1 understand the aims and claims of the Single Tax
League, it clearly recognises the right of private or individual
ownership of land. It proposes only to levy such a tax upon
land as will support the government; thus throwing the burden
of taxation on that part of the value of the land which is not the
result of the owner’s foresight, intelligence, or labour, but is the
result of the collective labour, growth, and development of the
whole community.
* Henry George, in his Open Letter to the Pope, apparently did not advert to
these words, “more than is just,” and hence his reasoning is open to the
charge of lacking that complete justice which was his highest aim.
