Culture | Apocalypse then
The lessons of violence and inequality through the ages
Only catastrophe truly reduces inequality, according to a historical survey
The Great Leveller: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century By Walter Scheidel. Princeton University Press; 504 pages; $35 and £27.95.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Apocalypse then”
From the March 4th 2017 edition
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The agency’s most highbrow covert op
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A recent history of American sanctions and more offers a timely, riveting world tour