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The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone BOOK REVIEW Ageeconomic to the Alternatives, Twenty-First 2017, Centuryissue 3, Pp

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The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone BOOK REVIEW Ageeconomic to the Alternatives, Twenty-First 2017, Centuryissue 3, Pp The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone BOOK REVIEW AgeEconomic to the Alternatives, Twenty-First 2017, CenturyIssue 3, pp. 486-488 The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century By Walter Scheidel Princeton University Prees. Princeton and Oxford. ISBN 978-0-691-16502-8. 2017, 504. Inequality has been Walter Scheidel's The Great Leveler. one of the most Violence and the History of Inequality from serious "problems" the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century1 is that engages the devoted namely to this issue. My first impression mind of so many is that the book has an unusual structure: an people in different introduction and seven parts which in turn are divided into sixteen chapters. It becomes fields of science. evident that this unusual, albeit appropriate Economists, structure, was determined by the author's sociologists, interesting approach. The text is not structured philosophers, by chronology. A problem-thematic approach journalists, political has been adopted instead. In addition, this study scientists and offers 54 tables and figures. politicians have been taken part in a heated The big question raised at the very beginning debate on the issue, whether out of scientific of the exposition is: "Has inequality always been motives or in the pursuit of personal, partisan with us?" In his attempt to provide an answer to or "public" interest. In such complex cases of this question, the author argues that inequality has always been there, though it has taken excessive multilateral interest, it is necessary various forms throughout the years such as that historians be given a chance to express improving hunting fields or increasing the female their opinion. The author of this review is a mammals for the dominant male. Hence there historian – a researcher in the field of social are almost no cases in world history in which the and economic history, demography and goods are equally allocated. The presence of a comparative history. We should therefore be hierarchy that is inherent for our close relatives happy with this commitment to undertaking – for example the African great apes (gorillas an in-depth study of inequality. History and or chimpanzees), brings about inequality. Thus, historians enjoy an advantage over the exploring the initial stages of the emergence other spheres of human knowledge and of human society, the author concedes that inequality is a typical characteristic of the researchers therein - economy, sociology, human race rather than an exception. philosophy - considering that their main task What is quite interesting for the Bulgarian is to present the reality in the past – whether readership is the examiniation of the Gini we like it or not. So let's take a closer look at coefficient measuring the gold content in one strictly scientific, anti-utopian book that the more than 200 graves discovered near shows us the reality about inequality. Port Varna, where the villagers apparently 486 Economic Alternatives, Issue 3, 2017 BOOK REVIEW possessed various golden objects and utopian and idyllic moments. There was no jewellery. This is what archaeologists refer to "heaven on earth". Instead they were historic as the "culture of Varna" as one of the earliest events stemming from political, revolutionary cultures where people are engaged in gold or other cataclysms such as the plague, for processing and have a well-established social example. The author highlights some of these hierarchy. More than 6,000 years ago, these events: the fall of the Roman Empire and the people were not quite equal. Some were buried subsequent plague, the great plague epidemic with much more gold than others. Therefore, – Black Death and so on. The same results are they did not enjoy equality in terms of wealth evident from the figures headlined Inequality distribution. The book offers numerous facts Trends in Latin America in the Long Run (p. 104) from the history of other early cultures as and Inequality Trends in the United States in the evidence in support of this assumption. So Long Run (p.110). In the first case, the rise in inequality was inherent to the humans long inequality in Latin America was interrupted by before the first forms of state organization the declining population following the Spanish emerged. It is evident that, even after the "state" conquest (the impact of population loss) and appeared on the historical scene, inequality the Wars of Independence. In the second case did not disappear but was only transformed. As (United States) leveling factors are emerging the author argues,"unequal access to income such as the War of Independence and the far and wealth preceded the formation of the state more devastating Second World War. and contributed to its development. Yet once In my opinion, the latter is the greatest established, governmental institutions in turn contribution of the book. It definitely has a exacerbated existing inequalities and created chastening effect on us. Indeed, as the author new ones" (p. 43). points out, the major cataclysms in human Inequality was also quite typical of history can be identified as the great levelers. the first bigger state structures (empires). In the following chapters, he begins to present Chapter 2 makes an overview of inequality "the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". The in the Roman Empire, Early China, Mamluk Second World War and the revolution in Egypt, among other ancient empires. As the Russia – which led to the communist regime author argues, the main focus of the study – were singled out as the main reasons for is on Europe, though it also presents data the collapse. The author himself writes: "Two from some Ottoman cities in Anatolia. Thus, of the four horsemen of violent leveling – the book also presents the Ottoman Empire, mass mobilization warfare and transformative making mention of the research carried out revolution – had been unleashed with devastating on inequality by Turkish historians. There consequences. For the first time since the Black has been such research for Balkans cities, Death, and on a scale perhaps unrivaled since though it has not been included in the study. the fall of the western Roman empire, access to Nevertheless, the text is clearly material resources came to be distributed much "Eurocentric", which is probably due to the more equally – and, uniquely, across large parts much denser statistical information available of the globe" (p. 112). for Western Europe. Particularly revealing is As was already said, the text has a Figure 3.1. Inequality trends in Europe in the "problem-thematic structure". Hence the events long run (p. 87). It exposes the trend of growing and processes in world history are presented inequality in Europe over long periods of time, in terms of their relevance to the subject of interrupted by shorter periods of "flattening" the book, not with regard to a year or period. (or less inequality). Please do not rush to be Presumably, the revolution in Russia turned out happy! These periods were not a result of any to have a more serious effect on inequality solution and fairer distribution of goods. The than the revolution in France. Accordingly, the European continent did not experience any former comes first in the text. Quite expectedly, 487 The Great Leveler. Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone BOOK REVIEW Age to the Twenty-First Century the French Revolution did not have such a however, raises the question of whether full dramatic impact on inequality in France. Excuse equality in income and wealth distribution is my reiteration, but the approach adopted in the fair? I think that definitely it is not. book is at once appropriate and original. After many historical examples, the author It should be assumed that the total war was focuses on modernity. At present, there is a total leveler, while the transformative one, like also a large disproportion in the distribution communist revolution, was the second one. But of incomes and wealth. On the question as to which are the others? They are explained and how far inequality can go, the author replies: analyzed within the separate chapters of the "In theory, one person can own everything study: The great demises of the empires and there is to own, with everyone else owning systemic collapses such as the collapse of the nothing but surviving on labor or transfers." In Tang dynasty elite in China, the disintegration theory, a society of almost complete equality of the Western Roman Empire and of the pre- is also possible (in theory "yes", but practically Columbian Americas. The great pandemics, "not"). The other big question is: "what does especially The Blach death, when the Europe the future hold?" Obviously, we cannot expect lost nearly half of its population, are also any "paradise on earth", where we are all recalled. As the author writes, "the Black granted public goods on equal terms. History Death of the 14th century was not the first teaches us that we should be skeptical. The plague pandemic of the Old World. Back 800 author is even more moderate and reminds: years earlier, the same disease had already "All of us who prize greater economic equality struck and ravaged Europe and the Middle would do well to remember that with the rarest East in much the same way during a pandemic of exceptions, it was only ever brought forth in known as the Justinianic Plague, which lasted sorrow. Be careful what you wish for" (p. 444). from 541 to about 750 CE" (p. 319). These All those who dream of equality in the disasters led to equalization in the distribution distribution of goods will find the book to of incomes and wealth.
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