The Great Leveler : Violence and the History of Inequality from - the Stone Age to the 21st Century

Zusatztext "Alphaville’s favourite scholar on [inequality] is Stanford’s Walter Scheidel and, in particular, his book The Great Leveler ." ---Jamie Powell, Financial Times Informationen zum Autor Walter Scheidel Klappentext Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that it never dies peacefully. The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world. The "Four Horsemen" of leveling--mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues--have repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich. Today, the violence that reduced inequality in the past seems to have diminished, and that is a good thing. But it casts serious doubt on the prospects for a more equal future. An essential contribution to the debate about inequality, The Great Leveler provides important new insights about why inequality is so persistent--and why it is unlikely to decline anytime soon. Zusammenfassung Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that it never dies peacefully. The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of

Product details

• Authors: Walter Scheidel, Scheidel Walter
• Assisted by: Joel Mokyr (Editor)
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 11.09.2018
• EAN: 9780691183251
• ISBN: 978-0-691-18325-1
• No. of pages: 528
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 205 mm x 38 mm
• Series: Princeton Economic History of the Western World; The Princeton Economic History of the Western World
• Subjects: Non-fiction book; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; prehistory, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economic History, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Demography, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Violence in Society, c 1500 onwards to present day, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Welfare economics, Violence in society, Economic & financial crises & disasters, Economic and financial crises and disasters, Population & demography, Population and Demography, Modern Period, C 1500 Onwards, BCE to c 500 CE, Violence and abuse in society, BCE period – Protohistory