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The Great Leveler

Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century
By Walter Scheidel
Series: The Princeton Economic History of the Western World
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel offers a sweeping historical analysis of economic inequality throughout human history. Exploring evidence from the Stone Age to the present, Scheidel argues that significant reductions in inequality have only occurred through violent shocks—namely mass-mobilisation warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues, dubbed the "Four Horsemen" of leveling. The book challenges the hope for peaceful decreases in inequality, suggesting that without such upheavals, economic disparities are likely to persist.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in history, economics, social inequality, and political science, particularly those seeking a deep understanding of the forces shaping economic disparities over millennia.

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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

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! 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 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-mobilisation 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.

Series: The Princeton Economic History of the Western World

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Great Leveler has been widely recognised, receiving shortlist nominations for prominent awards such as the 2017 Cundill History Prize and the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. It has been named one of the best business books of 2017 by multiple respected sources including strategy+business, The New York Times Deal Book, The Wall Street Journal, BBC History Magazine, and The Economist.com. This acclaim highlights its influential contribution to economic and historical discourse.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780691183251

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 18 September 2018

Country: United States

Imprint: Princeton University Press

Illustration: 45 b/w illus.

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 133.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 528

Collections

Education & Reference Finance & Economics Finance & Investment Non-Fiction Series: The Princeton Economic History of the Western World Walter Scheidel

About the Author

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

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