Richer and More Equal: A New History of Wealth in the West by Daniel Waldenstrom
Using cutting-edge research and new, sometimes surprising, data, Waldenstrom shows that what stands out since the late 1800s is a massive rise in the size of the middle class and its share of societys total wealth. Unfettered capitalism, it seems, doesnt have to lead to boundless inequality. The key to progress was political and institutional change that enabled citizens to become educated, better paid, and to amass wealth through housing and pension savings. Waldenstrom asks how we can consolidate these gains while encouraging the creation of new capital. The answer, he argues, is to pursue tax and social policies that raise the wealth of people in the bottom and middle rather than cutting wealth of entrepreneurs at the top.
Richer and More Equalis a benchmark account of one of the most profound and encouraging social changes in human history and a blueprint for continued progress.