The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality is an important book. Wisman's analysis of the forces that shaped inequality in different periods is insightful. Extreme material inequality in human society has existed for over 5,000 years. It is still egregious in present day economically developed and democratic societies. The better we understand it, the more hope there is of mitigating it.

Samuel Clark, Sociology Inquiry

If we want more than just a more equitable distribution of resources, if we want sustainable prosperity for the world, we ignore [this] important and readable [book] at our peril.

Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett, Nature

...the arguments are excitingly new and largely persuasive. The book is also a terrific read. It builds the inequality narrative on a deep human impulse, foregrounds culture, and unlike stories that place excessive weight on industrial capitalism, builds a story that acknowledges many transitions and suggests a way to relate these.

Tirthankar Roy, EH.Net

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In sum, our biology condemns the human race to be competitive and acquisitive and only with concerted effort to build institutions that can fine tune the impact of its innate nature could it succeed in containing rent-seeking and creating a more "egalitarian future". These interdisciplinary arguments are presented in great detail with many innovative ideas. This large- vision book deserves to be read by anyone interested in the nature and rise of inequality; in other words, it should be on all of our bookshelves in easy reach.

John Komlos, Professor Emeritus, University of Munich, Real-World Economics Review

The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality tackles the two problems head-on, with a rich analytical narrative that needs 500-odd pages to build a connected history. Two ideas hold this project together. First, inequality stems from an impulse to corner the good things in life. The deepest and oldest impulse is biological, to win the competition for sexual partners and be successful in the evolutionary game. This, the biological root, is largely forgotten because we get carried away by the forms that power takes...The biological root of inequality, and the elite conversion of economic power into political power by cultural-ideological means, run through the book as two connecting threads.

Tirthankar Roy, Professor of economic history at the London School of Economics and Political Science, EH.Net

If we are looking for worldwide sustainable prosperity and a fair distribution of resources, thus lessening inequality, reading Wisman's book becomes compulsory.

Heterodox Economics Newsletter Issue 319

Wisman shows inequality to be the cause of much social, economic, political and environmental harm for at least fifty-five centuries. He also shows that in each historical era of inequality, the winners in the competition for the highest ranks have used ideology and religion to claim falsely that the exploitation that made them winners and the rest losers, was really in the interest of the losers, too. Professor Wisman has done a good job shining his light on dark corners of inequality.

William M. Dugger, Professor Emeritus of Economics The University of Tulsa, Journal of Economic Issues/Association for Evolutionary Economics

Jon Wisman's entire scholarly life has a consistent and persistent focus on inequality including its causes, its consequences, and possible remedies. This scholarly life is powerfully presented to us in his new book, The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality: Sex, Politics, and Ideology. Wisman's book can only be described accurately as a Magnum Opus; it is the culmination of his scholarly work to date.

William Waller, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Journal of Economic Issues/Association for Evolutionary Economics

The book is absorbing and a lesson in how to combine data, evidence, quotes, anecdotes, and narrative. It is now a touchstone for me.

Erudit

[A] classic in the making... Wisman is a rare example of someone who has transcended his discipline. Chapter by chapter - and mostly using the long arc of human history to provide a storyline - he guides the reader in their development of understanding about how inequality instantiated itself into consequential areas of civilisation (and pre-civilisation)... an undiscovered masterpiece.

Anthony M. Gould, Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations

Wisman welcomes the explosion of interest in inequality we have seen so far in the twenty-first century...In the pages of The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality, he sets out to do that shining. More specifically, he sets out to demonstrate the centrality of inequality to human history and the centrality of politics to that inequality.

The Review of Black Political Economy

Wisman's masterfully-crafted manuscript centers on the idea that the force that has shaped human history is the struggle over inequality... This book's potent arguments will not leave the reader indifferent and, thus, deserve to be read and debated widely.

Quentin Hedges Duroy, Challenge

The writing is dignified, assured, magisterial, and eminently accessible to a generalist reader. Wisman shows how pushing for less inequality is like pushing against gravity-- pushing against gene-driven competition to acquire positions of higher status. The problem is not with this competition, but with how institutions channel its expression... The overall value of the book is that it offers a re-interpretation of human history where the struggle over inequality is the driving force. It provides a novel explanation of why inequality exists, how it has been expressed through history, and what must be understood to create a fairer, more humane future.

Robert Wade, Contributions to Political Economy

Argues that the struggle over income, wealth, status and privilege-inequality-has been the principal, defining issue in human history and provides a novel framework for understanding inequality today Whereas President Barack Obama declared inequality as the defining issue of our time, in The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality, Jon D. Wisman claims more: it is the defining issue of all human history. The struggle over inequality has been the underlying force driving human history's unfolding. Drawing on the dynamics of inequality, Wisman re-interprets economic history and society. Beyond according inequality the central role in history, this book is novel in two other respects: First, transcending the general failure of social scientists and historians to anchor their work in explicit theories of human behaviour, this book grounds the origins and dynamics of inequality in evolutionary psychology, or more specifically, Darwin's theory of sexual selection. Second, this book accords central importance to ideology in legitimating inequality, a role typically inadequately addressed by social scientists and historians. Because of the central role of inequality in history, inequality's explosion over the past forty years has not been an anomaly. It is a return to the political dynamics by which elites have, since the rise of the state, taken practically everything for themselves, leaving all others with little more than the means with which to survive. Due to elites' persuasive ideology, even after workers in advanced capitalist countries gained the franchise to become the overwhelming majority of voters, inequality continued to increase. Sweeping and provocative, Jon D. Wisman presents a fresh perspective on why economic inequality exists and how its dynamics have shaped human history.
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In The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality, Jon Wisman provides a re-interpretation of economic history and society. He argues that the struggle over income, wealth, and privilege-inequality-has been the principal, defining issue in human history and provides a novel framework for understanding inequality today.
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Preface Acknowledgments Chapter One: Introduction: Inequality, Sex, Politics, and Ideology Chapter Two: Blame it on Sex Chapter Three: From Aboriginal Equality to Limited and Unstable Inequality Chapter Four: The Dynamics of Religious Legitimation Chapter Five: The State, Civilization, and Extreme Inequality Chapter Six: The Critical Break: The Bourgeiosie Unchained Chapter Seven: Theological Revolution and the Idea of Equality Chapter Eight: The Shift Toward Secular Ideology Chapter Nine: Workers Gain Formal Political Power Chapter Ten: From American Exceptionalism to the Great Compression Chapter Eleven: Simon Kuznets' Happy Prognosis Crushed in an Ideological Coup Chapter Twelve: Inequality, Conspicuos Consumption, and the Growth Trap Chapter Thirteen: The Problem is Inequality, not Private Property and Markets Chapter Fourteen: What Future for Inequality? Bibliography Index
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"The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality is an important book. Wisman's analysis of the forces that shaped inequality in different periods is insightful. Extreme material inequality in human society has existed for over 5,000 years. It is still egregious in present day economically developed and democratic societies. The better we understand it, the more hope there is of mitigating it." -- Samuel Clark, Sociology Inquiry "If we want more than just a more equitable distribution of resources, if we want sustainable prosperity for the world, we ignore [this] important and readable [book] at our peril." -- Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett, Nature "...the arguments are excitingly new and largely persuasive. The book is also a terrific read. It builds the inequality narrative on a deep human impulse, foregrounds culture, and unlike stories that place excessive weight on industrial capitalism, builds a story that acknowledges many transitions and suggests a way to relate these." -- Tirthankar Roy, EH.Net "...the arguments are excitingly new and largely persuasive. The book is also a terrific read. It builds the inequality narrative on a deep human impulse, foregrounds culture, and unlike stories that place excessive weight on industrial capitalism, builds a story that acknowledges many transitions and suggests a way to relate these." -- Tirthankar Roy, EH.Net "I»¿In sum, our biology condemns the human race to be competitive and acquisitive and only with concerted effort to build institutions that can fine tune the impact of its innate nature could it succeed in containing rent-seeking and creating a more "egalitarian future". These interdisciplinary arguments are presented in great detail with many innovative ideas. This large- vision book deserves to be read by anyone interested in the nature and rise of inequality; in other words, it should be on all of our bookshelves in easy reach." -- John Komlos, Professor Emeritus, University of Munich, Real-World Economics Review "The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality tackles the two problems head-on, with a rich analytical narrative that needs 500-odd pages to build a connected history. Two ideas hold this project together. First, inequality stems from an impulse to corner the good things in life. The deepest and oldest impulse is biological, to win the competition for sexual partners and be successful in the evolutionary game. This, the biological root, is largely forgotten because we get carried away by the forms that power takes...The biological root of inequality, and the elite conversion of economic power into political power by cultural-ideological means, run through the book as two connecting threads." -- Tirthankar Roy, Professor of economic history at the London School of Economics and Political Science, EH.Net "If we are looking for worldwide sustainable prosperity and a fair distribution of resources, thus lessening inequality, reading Wisman's book becomes compulsory." -- Heterodox Economics Newsletter Issue 319 "Wisman shows inequality to be the cause of much social, economic, political and environmental harm for at least fifty-five centuries. He also shows that in each historical era of inequality, the winners in the competition for the highest ranks have used ideology and religion to claim falsely that the exploitation that made them winners and the rest losers, was really in the interest of the losers, too. Professor Wisman has done a good job shining his light on dark corners of inequality." -- William M. Dugger, Professor Emeritus of Economics The University of Tulsa, Journal of Economic Issues/Association for Evolutionary Economics "Jon Wisman's entire scholarly life has a consistent and persistent focus on inequality including its causes, its consequences, and possible remedies. This scholarly life is powerfully presented to us in his new book, The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality: Sex, Politics, and Ideology. Wisman's book can only be described accurately as a Magnum Opus; it is the culmination of his scholarly work to date." -- William Waller, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Journal of Economic Issues/Association for Evolutionary Economics "The book is absorbing and a lesson in how to combine data, evidence, quotes, anecdotes, and narrative. It is now a touchstone for me." -- Erudit "[A] classic in the making... Wisman is a rare example of someone who has transcended his discipline. Chapter by chapter - and mostly using the long arc of human history to provide a storyline - he guides the reader in their development of understanding about how inequality instantiated itself into consequential areas of civilisation (and pre-civilisation)... an undiscovered masterpiece." -- Anthony M. Gould, Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations "Wisman welcomes the explosion of interest in inequality we have seen so far in the twenty-first century...In the pages of The Origins and Dynamics of Inequality, he sets out to do that shining. More specifically, he sets out to demonstrate the centrality of inequality to human history and the centrality of politics to that inequality." -- The Review of Black Political Economy "Wisman's masterfully-crafted manuscript centers on the idea that the force that has shaped human history is the struggle over inequality... This book's potent arguments will not leave the reader indifferent and, thus, deserve to be read and debated widely." -- Quentin Hedges Duroy, Challenge "The writing is dignified, assured, magisterial, and eminently accessible to a generalist reader. Wisman shows how pushing for less inequality is like pushing against gravity-- pushing against gene-driven competition to acquire positions of higher status. The problem is not with this competition, but with how institutions channel its expression... The overall value of the book is that it offers a re-interpretation of human history where the struggle over inequality is the driving force. It provides a novel explanation of why inequality exists, how it has been expressed through history, and what must be understood to create a fairer, more humane future." -- Robert Wade, Contributions to Political Economy
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Jon D. Wisman is Professor of Economics at American University in Washington, D.C. He served as President of the Association for Social Economics in 2002 and has twice been selected by American University as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year. He was also a recipient of the 2023 Veblen-Commons Award, in recognition of his significant contributions to the evolutionary institutional economics.
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Selling point: Grounds the social dynamics of human history in the struggle over inequality Selling point: Covers human history from our species' origins to the present through the lens of inequality Selling point: Presents a novel framework for understanding inequality and argues that the dynamics of sexual selection underlie all competition Selling point: Shows the need for social sciences and history to be grounded in explicit scientific theories of human behavior Selling point: Reveals the power of ideology in maintaining high levels of inequality
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780197575949
Publisert
2022
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press Inc
Vekt
866 gr
Høyde
165 mm
Bredde
238 mm
Dybde
42 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
520

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

Jon D. Wisman is Professor of Economics at American University in Washington, D.C. He served as President of the Association for Social Economics in 2002 and has twice been selected by American University as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year. He was also a recipient of the 2023 Veblen-Commons Award, in recognition of his significant contributions to the evolutionary institutional economics.