A provocative look at inequality through the ages and around the world, outlining policies that have worked to create more just societies.
In a clear-eyed and timeless account, Per Molander examines the development of the phenomenon of social inequality in the modern world, the history of inequality, and what can be done about it.
Beyond considering what economists and politicians have to say about the subject, the book takes a Thomas Piketty-like approach to understanding the cultural history of the idea (such as, what have the great philosophers had to say about the subject?) Molander addresses obvious questions often avoided - including why the wealthiest countries, such as the United States, have the greatest incidence of inequality?
In a conversational style, the book mixes anthropology, statistics, references to music and literature, and political science, to explore how inequality can be better managed for a healthier society. Molander presents a persuasive, entirely reasonable case that, as surely as societies can be made unequal, so too can they be made equal.