The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century (The Princeton Economic History of the Western World)

He lives in Palo Alto, California. The author or editor of sixteen previous books, he has published widely on premodern social and economic history, demography, and comparative history. Walter Scheidel is the Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Classics and History, and a Kennedy-Grossman Fellow in Human Biology at

Today, the violence that reduced inequality in the past seems to have diminished, and that is a good thing. Over thousands of years, only violent events have significantly lessened inequality. The "Four Horsemen" of levelingmass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagueshave repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich. How only violence and catastrophes have consistently reduced inequality throughout world historyAre 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. 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 persistentand why it is unlikely to decline anytime soon.. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that inequali

Scheidel puts the discussion of increased inequality found in the recent work of Thomas Piketty, Anthony Atkinson, Branko Milanovic and others into a broad historical context and examines the circumstances under which it can be reduced."--The Economist"Reducing inequality by peaceful means looks harder than ever, giving Mr. His scholarship encompasses many things (classics, history, human biology) and if current events are insufficiently depressing for you, try his just-published book The Great Leveler: Viole

Greg G said Humans are much better at sharing the poverty than sharing the wealth. Walter Scheidel tackles a very ambitious project here. He attempts nothing less than a one volume account of economic inequality throughout all of human history. In my opinion he succeeds brilliantly.This is a book of impressive scholarship. It is rare that someone is motivated to study this topic without an obvious political and policy agenda. Even after finis. If you liked Piketty you'll like this book Peter S. Shirley This a sweeping discussion of the history of inequality. It is nuanced and ike Piketty there are a ton of references and very thorough discussion. Unlike Piketty it is a history book rather than an econ book and there is nothing like a quantitative theory. It's a fascinating if somewhat dry read. I'll read it again as there is a ton of detailed interesting disc. Paul F. Ross said Income diversity injustices and corrections. Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, "Income diversity injustices and corrections" according to Paul F. Ross. Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 201Income diversity injustices and corrections Paul F. Ross Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 2014; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. ; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. 01Income diversity injustices and corrections Paul F. Ross Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 2014; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. ; Atkinson, "Income diversity injustices and corrections" according to Paul F. Ross. Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 201Income diversity injustices and corrections Paul F. Ross Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 2014; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. ; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. 015; Milanovic, "Income diversity injustices and corrections" according to Paul F. Ross. Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 201Income diversity injustices and corrections Paul F. Ross Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 2014; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. ; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. 016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel ("Income diversity injustices and corrections" according to Paul F. Ross. Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 201Income diversity injustices and corrections Paul F. Ross Review of Scheidel’s "The great leveler" by Paul F. Ross Income diversity has received important recent attention (Piketty, 2014; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. ; Atkinson, 2015; Milanovic, 2016) as well as earlier attention (Kuznets, 1966). It is a very important topic deserving that attention. Scheidel (2017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import. 017) adds to the discourse. Viewpoints are widely divergent suggesting that import