On November 7, 1990, an open letter to then President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev was published[1][2] and signed by a rank of thirty Western sources, most of whom were academics.
[3][4] The contents of the letter made the argument to the Soviet head of state that while moving the economy away from a centrally planned system towards a free market mixed economy was a step forward, they warned the leader against following through with what the West had done following the end of feudalism; privatising the land itself, instead opting towards a Georgist system of common ownership and the collection of public revenue through land-value taxation.
Second, it provides revenue with which governments can pay for socially valuable activities without discouraging capital formation or work effort, or interfering in other ways with the efficient allocation of resources.
"[3][4]The letter then explained and elaborated on how land-value arises from three sources; it's productivity and fixed supply, the growth of the population occupied nearby the land, and lastly the provision of public services and goods.
"[9] A similar argument in favour of the USSR moving towards a system of land-value taxation was made in an opinion piece in the New York Times authored by "Achilles Fexas", titled "Gorbachev Can Test Henry George's Theory".