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Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War

Branko Milanovic's book presentation
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Visions of Inequality looks at how income distribution was perceived and studied by the most important economists from before the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War. It takes us from Quesnay and the physiocrats, for whom social classes were prescribed by law and who introduced the notion of the economic surplus, through the classic nineteenth-century treatises of Smith, Ricardo, and Marx. They saw class as an economic category defined by the ownership of means of production.

Milanovic argues that The Wealth of Nations is significantly more concerned with inequality and its bad effects than The Theory of Moral Sentiments, a view that is contrary to some recent interpretations of Smith. Chapters on Ricardo and Marx discuss their view of changes in income distribution as capitalism evolves, and argue that frequent ascription to Marx of “the immiseration of labor” hypothesis is based on very selective quotes from Marx’s texts. A much broader view, consistent with Marx’s other positions and textually more defensible, is proposed instead.  

The book then moves to Pareto for whom income distribution was a matter of elites versus the rest of the population, and Kuznets who saw inequality arising from the urban-rural divide. In its last chapter it explains why inequality studies were eclipsed during the Cold War, before their remarkable resurgence as a central preoccupation in economics today.

Click on the green button below to register to the book presentation, deadline is Thursday 23 May 

Masterclass with Branko Milanovic

Date: 24 May
Time: 11.00-13.00 
Location: TS53 Room H0.06

In this masterclass, four invited students from a wide range of academic advancement, spanning from 1st year master students to 3rd year PhD candidates, will have the opportunity to present their inequality related work to Branko Milanovic, and a wider audience. 

Everyone interested in this masterclass can register via the link below. Each presentation slot is 15 minutes long for the presentation itself, followed by 5-10 minutes of feedback from Branko and a Questions & Answers part open to the audience. 

Register here to the masterclass, deadline is Monday 20 May

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