Capital in Classical Antiquity

Description

This book discusses the extent to which Thomas Piketty’s work can offer a model for ancient economic history, both methodologically and politically. The book derives from a research workshop in Berlin in April 2018, which brought together a group of established and early career scholars to discuss the implications of Piketty’s work and related themes for classical antiquity. Key questions reflected in the text include:d: How should we characterise the ‘development’ of the economy/economies of the classical Mediterranean, in relation to the role of ‘capital’ and the prevalence of inequality? How was wealth, both public and private, evaluated and managed? How much of the wealth of their society did the ancient 1% control – and is their dominance better understood in terms of the power of capital, or the role of predation and state capture? How far did certain ancient polities – above all the Greek city-states – succeed in placing limits on the power of the rich and integrating their interests with those of the masses? Did inequality increase between the height of the Roman Principate and late antiquity, as is often believed? This book will be valuable reading for academics and students working in economic history, ancient history, and other related fields. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction: Capital and Classical Antiquity 1 Wealth, Poverty and Inequality 2 Thomas Piketty and Classical Antiquity 3 About This Volume Bibliography 2 Problems in the Long-Term Accumulation of Commercial and Financial Capital in Ancient Greece 1 Introduction 2 Kinship Institutions: Partible Inheritance, Dowry, Uninterested Heirs 3 Guardians of Orphans’ Estates 4 Reneging Borrowers and Business Partners 5 Bank Failures 6 The Estate Owner’s Lifecycle and the Attractions of Land 7 Capital Accumulation and Investment Patterns in the Premodern Economy 8 Conclusions Bibliography 3 Inequality in the Peloponnesian War 1 Economics and Finance 2 Evidence and the Limits to Quantification 3 Labour Market Shocks 4 Wage Shock 5 Capital Market Shocks 6 Tragedy of the Delian Commons 7 Strategic Behaviour 8 Negative Capital Shock 9 Inequality as a Reason for Revolts 10 Conclusion Bibliography 4 Framing Capital: Xenophon’s Economic Model and Social System 1 Introduction 2 Aligning Private and Public Household Management: Oeconomicus and Vectigalia 3 Commonwealth first—Xenophon’s Perfect System and Capital 4 A Risky Business? Abuse of Capital in Xenophon 5 Conclusion Bibliography 5 Piketty’s Dilemma: Taxes in Fourth-Century Athens 1 Piketty’s Thesis 2 Critique of Capital in the 21st Century 3 The Case of Athens 4 Conclusion Bibliography 6 Status as a Brake and Accelerant on Wealth Inequality in the Late Roman Republic 1 Introduction 2 Inequality and Status Competition 3 Status and Wealth in the Late Republic 4 The Bubble Grows: Financing Status Competition 5 The Consequences of Debt 6 Conclusion Bibliography 7 Rent Control Measures in the 40s BCE: Housing Costs, Public Intervention and Inequality in the Roman World 1 Introduction 2 Housing in Rome 3 Public Intervention in Housing in Rome: Rent Cancellations and Rent Control Measures in 40s BCE 4 Could Rent Controls Have Been Enforced in Ancient Rome? 5 What Impact Do Rent Control Measures Have on Inequality? 6 Conclusions Bibliography 8 Capital in the Roman Empire: The Scope for Pikettian Dynamics in an Ancient Agrarian Economy 1 Introduction 2 The Wealth Stock 3 The Dynamics of the Wealth Stock 4 The Capital:Income Ratio in the Roman Empire 5 The Distribution of Wealth 6 The Dynamics of the Wealth Distribution 7 “Pikettian” Concentration in Ancient History 8 The Special Case of Julio-Claudian Ultra-Large Fortunes 9 Munificence and the Permeability of Large Fortunes 10 Non-Private Wealth in the Roman World 11 Conclusion Bibliography 9 Money, Capital and Inequality in the Age of Augustus 1 Inflation and Inequality: A Brief Theoretical Explanation 2 Post-Actium Monetary Expansion and the Capital Structure 3 Conclusions Bibliography 10 Was r Greater Than g? Evidence from Roman Egypt 1 Introduction 2 Growth Rates 3 Rates of Return 4 Methodology 5 The Housing Market 6 The Markets for Land and Credit 7 Analysis and Conclusions Appendix: Methodology and Assumptions Bibliography 11 Wealth, Inequality and Political Culture in the Cities of Roman Asia Minor, First to Third Centuries CE 1 Introduction 2 Changing Elite Behaviour 3 Elites and Middling Groups 4 Explaining Elite Behaviour 5 Third-Century Developments 6 Concluding Remarks Bibliography 12 Oligarchy Ancient and Modern 1 Introduction 2 Two Concepts of Oligarchy 3 Ancient Oligarchia 4 Modern Oligarchy 5 Ancient Oligarchia and Modern Oligarchy 6 Oligarchy and Democracy Bibliography 13 Reflection: Beyond Capital 1 Piketty on His Own Terms: Further Thoughts 2 More Elites? Rawls vs. Piketty 3 Beyond Capital 4 Conclusion Bibliography 14 Reflection: Piketty Among the Ancients—Capital and Beyond 1 Capital 2 Ideology 3 Technology Bibliography 15 Afterword: Capital, from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century Bibliography Index