Book Summary

Walter Scheidel’s ‘The Great Leveler’ examines the history of inequality across different civilizations and points in time. The book argues that throughout history, significant reductions in inequality have been the result of catastrophic events, which Scheidel labels as ‘the Four Horsemen’: mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and plagues. He explores how these forces have periodically leveled the playing field, but at great human cost, and questions the possibility of reducing inequality through less violent means.