Inequality is part and parcel of our lives. What degree of inequality we find acceptable or unacceptable informs the foundational values of our societies, and shapes our political and economic structures. Yet until recently the study of economic inequality (unlike poverty) was considered by economists as a problem not worth examining. That has changed. With the dramatic increase in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, inequality has become recognised by all shades of political opinion as a potential threat to economic growth and the functioning of society and democracy.

In A Short History of Inequality, Michele Alacevich and Anna Soci chart the emergence of the inequality question and in so doing provide a masterly overview of the work of recent scholars and the main concepts and debates that have arisen within inequality studies. Their analysis highlights how the historical diffidence to examining inequality, the relationship of inequality to the processes of globalization, and the adverse effects of inequality on democracy are all strongly intertwined.

The book is an ideal introduction for students and the general reader looking to understand what’s at stake when the rewards of capitalism are distributed unjustly.