"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 ...
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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 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."--
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Add this copy of Great Leveler, the: Violence and the Hist to cart. $9.50, Sold by The Last Word Bookstore rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Mt. Airy, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $9.67, good condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Princeton University Press.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $10.12, fair condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Princeton University Press.
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Fair. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $10.16, good condition, Sold by Goodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brooklyn Park, MN, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by Princeton University Press.
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Good. All pages and cover are intact including the dust cover if applicable. Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include From the library of labels. Shrink wrap dust covers or boxed set case may be missing. Item may be missing bundled media.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $10.16, good condition, Sold by Greenworld Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by Princeton University Press.
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Good condition book with a firm cover and clean readable pages. Shows normal use including some light wear or limited notes highlighting yet remains a dependable copy overall. Supplemental items like CDs or access codes may not be included.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $10.68, good condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2018 by Princeton University Press.
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It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $11.06, fair condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by Princeton University Press.
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Fair. With dust jacket. The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $11.11, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by Princeton University Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of to cart. $11.20, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2017 by Princeton University Press.
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Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Great Leveler to cart. $12.06, new condition, Sold by TextbookRush rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Grandview Hts, OH, UNITED STATES, published 2025 by Princeton University Press.
