CONTENTS

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS ix
3. List of Figures and Tables xi
4. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv
5. Introduction: The Challenge of Inequality 1
6. PART I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF INEQUALITY
7. 1. The Rise of Inequality 25
8. 2. Empires of Inequality 62
9. 3. Up and Down 86
10. PART II. WAR
11. 4. Total War 115
12. 5. The Great Compression 130
13. 6. Preindustrial Warfare and Civil War 174
14. PART III. REVOLUTION
15. 7. Communism 213
16. 8. Before Lenin 232
17. PART IV. COLLAPSE
18. 9. State Failure and Systems Collapse 257
19. PART V. PLAGUE
20. 10. The Black Death 291
21. 11. Pandemics, Famine, and War 314
22. PART VI. ALTERNATIVES 343
23. 12. Reform, Recession, and Representation 345
24. 13. Economic Development and Education 367
25. 14. What If ? From History to Counterfactuals 389
26. PART VII. INEQUALITY REDUX AND THE FUTURE OF LEVELING
27. 15. In Our Time 405
28. 16. What Does the Future Hold? 424
29. Appendix: The Limits of Inequality 445
30. Bibliography 457
31. Index 495