A Brief History of Equality

Between 1914 and 1980, inequality within Western countries declined due to the impacts of two world wars and an economic depression.

In the years leading up to World War I in France and Britain, an extremely rich upper class lived on the returns of its capital. Two world wars helped to drain away a large part of this wealth: High taxes justified by the conflicts required that foreign holdings be liquidated, while other assets were nationalized and rent freezes were mandated. The wealthy were also encouraged to lend to their governments by buying bonds to support war spending; inflation and later devaluations turned those bonds into poor investments. The destruction of physical assets such as buildings and factories also delivered a major blow to the rich. The 1930s Great Depression had more of an impact on the United States, which had been less economically affected by World War I than Europe. America saw the financial assets and businesses owned by the wealthy lose value and even fail on a massive scale.

This “great redistribution” was the first time ...