As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West

How the rich and the super-rich throughout Western history accumulated their wealth, behaved (or misbehaved) and helped (or didn't help) their communities in times of crisis The rich have always fascinated, sometimes in problematic ways. Medieval thinkers feared that the super-rich would act 'as gods among men'; much more recently Thomas Piketty made wealth central to discussions of inequality. In this book, Guido Alfani offers a history of the rich and super-rich in the West, examining who they were, how they accumulated their wealth and what role they played in society. Covering the last thousand years, with frequent incursions into antiquity, and integrating recent research on economic inequality, Alfani finds--despite the different paths to wealth in different eras--fundamental continuities in the behaviour of the rich and public attitudes towards wealth across Western history. His account offers a novel perspective on current debates about wealth and income disparity. Alfani argues that the position of the rich and super-rich in Western society has always been intrinsically fragile; their very presence has inspired social unease. In the Middle Ages, an excessive accumulation of wealth was considered sinful; the rich were expected not to appear to be wealthy. Eventually, the rich were deemed useful when they used their wealth to help their communities in times of crisis. Yet in the twenty-first century, Alfani points out, the rich and the super-rich--their wealth largely preserved through the Great Recession and COVID-19--have been exceptionally reluctant to contribute to the common good in times of crisis, rejecting even such stopgap measures as temporary tax increases. History suggests that this is a troubling development--for the rich, and for everyone else.

Business & Money

Alfani, Guido

Economics

Princeton University Press

"In this masterly book, [Alfani] offers an insightful long-run perspective and fascinating lessons for the future. A must-read!"--Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century A sweeping narrative that shows how the rich historically justified themselves by helping their societies in times of crisis, why they no longer do, and what that may mean for social stability The rich have always fascinated, sometimes in problematic ways. Medieval thinkers feared that the super-rich would act 'as gods among men'; much more recently Thomas Piketty made wealth central to discussions of inequality. In this book, Guido Alfani offers a history of the rich and super-rich in the West, examining who they were, how they accumulated their wealth and what role they played in society. Covering the last thousand years, with frequent incursions into antiquity, and integrating recent research on economic inequality, Alfani finds--despite the different paths to wealth in different eras--fundamental continuities in the behaviour of the rich and public attitudes towards wealth across Western history. His account offers a novel perspective on current debates about wealth and income disparity. Alfani argues that the position of the rich and super-rich in Western society has always been intrinsically fragile; their very presence has inspired social unease. In the Middle Ages, an excessive accumulation of wealth was considered sinful; the rich were expected not to appear to be wealthy. Eventually, the rich were deemed useful when they used their wealth to help their communities in times of crisis. Yet in the twenty-first century, Alfani points out, the rich and the super-rich--their wealth largely preserved through the Great Recession and COVID-19--have been exceptionally reluctant to contribute to the common good in times of crisis, rejecting even such stopgap measures as temporary tax increases. History suggests that this is a troubling development--for the rich, and for everyone else.

This is the most in-depth analysis of inequality and social polarization ever attempted for a preindustrial society. Using data from the archives of the Venetian Terraferma, and compared with information available for elsewhere in Europe, Guido Alfani and Matteo Di Tullio demonstrate that the rise of the fiscal-military state served to increase economic inequality in the early modern period. Preindustrial fiscal systems tended to be regressive in nature, and increased post-tax inequality compared to pre-tax - in contrast to what we would assume is the case in contemporary societies. This led to greater and greater disparities in wealth, which were made worse still as taxes were collected almost entirely to fund war and defence rather than social welfare. Though focused on Old Regime Europe, Alfani and Di Tullio's findings speak to contemporary debates about the roots of inequality and social stratification.

The Lion's Share: Inequality and the Rise of the Fiscal State in Preindustrial Europe (Cambridge Studies in Economic History - Second Series)

Di Tullio, Matteo

Cambridge University Press

Il Grande Terremoto D'India Del 4 Aprile 1905 E Le Registrazioni Sismiche, E Il Disastro D'India Segnalato All' Osservatorio Ximeniano (1905) (Italian Edition)

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Kessinger Publishing, LLC

Calamities and the Economy in Renaissance Italy: The Grand Tour of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

... Il Grande Terremoto D'India del 4 Aprile 1905 E Le Registrazioni Sismiche All' Osservatorio Ximeniano Di Firenze... (English and Italian Edition)

History

Nabu Press

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

History & Criticism

Il volume riunisce saggi dedicati alla storia sociale e all'evoluzione demografica dell'ampio territorio che va dalle Alpi al Po, dal golfo di Trieste a Bolzano. L'arco di tempo considerato e amplissimo, l'osservazione inizia infatti dalla romanizzazione delle Venezie e si spinge fino a considerare alcuni dei problemi piu urgenti del giorno d'oggi. I temi sono declinati senza ricorrere a specialismi, partendo dal punto di vista delle popolazioni e delle loro componenti sociali. Area aperta, per ragioni geografiche, alle contaminazioni e agli scambi, queste regioni hanno attraversato in modo del tutto originale alcune fasi storiche decisive per il nostro Paese, dalla ristrutturazione sociale e demografica del Seicento all'avvio della transizione demografica, dalla grande emigrazione transoceanica ottocentesca alla piu recente immigrazione di carattere economico. Una lunga vicenda storica che ha dato vita ad una delle macroregioni piu aperte, dinamiche e stimolanti d'Europa.

Popolazioni E Societa Delle Venezie (Italian Edition)

Arcangeli, Alessandro

Tilatti, Andrea

Franzina, Emilio

Caracausi, Andrea

Gasparini Danilo

Barbiera, Irene

Corso, Mattia

Fornasin, Alessio

La Rocca, Maria Cristina

Mellinato, Giulio

Pezzolo, Luciano

Rossi, Fiorenzo

Scalone, Francesco

Zannini, Andrea

Baruzzo, Enrico

Breschi, Marco

Brunello, Piero

Dalla Zuanna, Gianpiero

Europe

Viella

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