The great leveler : violence and the history of inequality from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century
(Book)
Author
Published
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2018].
Format
Book
ISBN
9780691183251, 0691183252
Physical Desc
xvii, 504 pages : illustrations, charts ; 21 cm.
Status
Description
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More Details
Published
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2018].
Language
English
ISBN
9780691183251, 0691183252
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 457-493) and index.
Description
"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 inequality never dies peacefully. Inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return. 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. Ever since humans began to farm, herd livestock, and pass on their assets to future generations, economic inequality has been a defining feature of civilization. Over thousands of years, only violent events have significantly lessened inequality. The "Four Horsemen" of leveling--mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues--have repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich. Scheidel identifies and examines these processes, from the crises of the earliest civilizations to the cataclysmic world wars and communist revolutions of the twentieth century. 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." -- Publisher's description
Language
Text in English.
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Morris Plains Library - Adult Nonfiction | 909 SCHEIDEL | Available |
Subjects
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Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Scheidel, W. (2018). The great leveler: violence and the history of inequality from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century . Princeton University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Scheidel, Walter, 1966-. 2018. The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-first Century. Princeton University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Scheidel, Walter, 1966-. The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-first Century Princeton University Press, 2018.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Scheidel, Walter. The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-first Century Princeton University Press, 2018.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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