In it George made the argument that a sizeable portion of the wealth created by social and technological advances in a free market economy is possessed by land owners and monopolists via economic rents, and that this concentration of unearned wealth is the main cause of poverty.
I bogen argumenterer George for, at næsten al den velstand, som skabes af sociale og teknologiske fremskridt i en fri markedsøkonomi, bliver opfanget af jordejere og monopolister, og at denne koncentration af ufortjent velstand er roden til fattigdom.