Progress and Poverty · Chapter
III: As to Certainty explained
This chapter discusses the importance of certainty in taxation, criticizing current tax methods for fostering corruption, fraud, and evasion.
What happens
This chapter discusses the importance of certainty in taxation, criticizing current tax methods for fostering corruption, fraud, and evasion. It highlights the material and moral costs of uncertain taxes, such as those on whisky, tobacco, customs, and income, and argues that a tax on land values possesses the highest degree of certainty due to the immovable and unconcealable nature of land.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and intellectual peak where the author, hav…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- The Single Tax on Land Values
The chapter advocates for a tax on land values as the most certain and least arbitrary form of taxation.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator presents the argument for certainty in taxation and critiques existing tax systems.
- David A. Wells
Mentioned as part of the New York Commission that investigated taxation and proposed an alternative tax based on rental value.
Key passages
“Taxes which lack the element of certainty tell most fearfully upon morals.”
Uncertain taxes have a severely damaging effect on public morality.
Highlights the moral corruption caused by uncertain tax systems.
“The tax on land values, which is the least arbitrary of taxes, possesses in the highest degree the element of certainty.”
A tax on land values is the most certain and least arbitrary form of taxation.
Emphasizes the certainty of land value taxation.
