The Great Leveler: violence and the history of inequality from the Stone Age to the future

27 November 2017

Speaker: Professor Walter Scheidel (Stanford University)
Chair: Dr Aaron Reeves (LSE)

Violence has been the single most important means of leveling wealth and income inequality in human history.

Throughout history only violent shocks have significantly reduced economic inequality: war, revolution, plagues. Walter Scheidel considered the prospects of levelling in today’s more stable world.

This lecture was funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Read about the III's partnership with JRF here.

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