Walter Scheidel's "The Great Leveler" examines the historical relationship between violence and inequality. The book argues that significant reductions in inequality have almost always been preceded by large-scale violent events. Scheidel identifies four key factors—mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and pandemics—as the primary drivers of wealth redistribution. He analyzes various historical periods, demonstrating how these catastrophic events have reshaped societal structures and wealth distribution. The book challenges conventional wisdom about economic development and inequality, suggesting that peaceful progress alone is insufficient to address deep-seated economic disparities.
In 'Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,' Matthew Desmond provides a detailed and compassionate look at the lives of eight families in Milwaukee who are struggling to maintain stable housing. The book explores the intersection of poverty, housing, and profit in the United States, highlighting the systemic issues that contribute to eviction and its consequences on families and communities.
In 'Social Limits to Growth', Fred Hirsch argues that the causes of the impasse in economic growth are essentially social rather than physical. He connects various factors such as alienation at work, deteriorating cities, inflation, and unemployment to the concept of social scarcity. Hirsch explains how material affluence leads to new forms of scarcity, particularly in the 'positional economy' where goods and services are valued for their relative status rather than absolute utility. The book is divided into parts that explore the neglected realm of social scarcity, the commercialization bias, and the depleting moral legacy of economic growth, concluding with policy inferences.
The Internationalist explores the enduring influence of the Kellogg-Briand Pact and its principles on international relations over the past century.
In this ground-breaking book, Katy Milkman reveals a proven path to help readers move from where they are to where they want to be. Drawing on her original research and the work of her world-renowned scientific collaborators, Milkman shares strategic methods for identifying and overcoming common barriers to change, such as impulsivity, procrastination, and forgetfulness. The book offers innovative approaches like 'temptation bundling,' using timely reminders, and creating 'set-it-and-forget-it systems' to make change more achievable. It emphasizes the importance of tailoring solutions to specific roadblocks and using science to stack the deck in favor of successful change.
The Buried Giant is set in a mythical post-Arthurian England, where a strange mist causes widespread forgetfulness. The story follows Axl and Beatrice, an elderly couple, as they embark on a journey to visit their son who lives in a distant village. Along the way, they encounter various characters, including Saxon warriors, monks, and figures from Arthurian legend. The novel delves into themes of memory, love, and the consequences of forgetting the past, highlighting the complexities of human nature and the dangers of ignorance. It blends elements of fantasy, historical fiction, and philosophical reflection to create a narrative that is both a tender love story and a profound exploration of collective memory and its impact on society[2][3][4].
Behind the Beautiful Forevers is an interview-based narrative that delves into the lives of the residents of Annawadi, a makeshift settlement near the Mumbai airport. The book follows characters such as Abdul, a Muslim teenager who sees opportunity in recyclable garbage, and Asha, a woman navigating political corruption to improve her family's life. It intricately plots the intersections of individual hopes with broader global truths, including the impacts of economic envy, religious tensions, and social inequality. Boo's work is praised for its intimate and unforgettable portrait of India's urban poor, drawing parallels to the works of Dickens and Zola.
Conservative parties operating in modern democracies face a dilemma: How does a party that represents the interests of moneyed elites win mass support? The dilemma sharpens as inequality widens — the more the haves have, the more have-nots there are who want to tax them.
In their new book, Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality, political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson argue that three paths are possible: Moderate on economics, activate social divisions, or undermine democracy itself. The Republican Party, they hold, has chosen a mix of two and three. “To advance an unpopular plutocratic agenda, Republicans have escalated white backlash — and, increasingly, undermined democracy,” they write.
On some level, it’s obvious that the GOP is a coalition between wealthy donors who want tax cuts and regulatory favors, and downscale whites who fear demographic change and want Trump to build that wall. But how does that coalition work? What happens when one side gains too much power? If the donor class was somehow raptured out of politics, would the result be a Republican Party that trafficked less in social division, or more? And has the threat of strongman rule distracted us from the growing reality of minoritarian rule?
In this conversation, we discuss how inequality has remade the Republican Party, the complex relationship between white identity politics and plutocratic economics, what to make of the growing crop of GOP leaders who want to abandon tax cuts for the rich and recenter the party around ethnonationalism, how much power Republican voters have over their party, and much more.
Paul Pierson's book recommendations:
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
The Social Limits to Growth by Fred Hirsch
Jacob Hacker's book recommendations:
Tocqueville's Discovery of America by Leo Damrosch
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Internationalists by Oona A. Hathaway and Scott J. Shapiro
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The Gray Area with Sean Illing 
