The Great Leveler Book Reviews

The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel Book Summary

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.

👋 Do you love The Great Leveler books? Please share your friends!

The Great Leveler (Walter Scheidel) Book Reviews 2024

Walter Scheidel - The Great Leveler Discussions & Comments

Have you read this book yet? What do you think about The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel book? Ask the bookpedia.co community a question about The Great Leveler!