Status as a Brake and Accelerant on Wealth Inequality in the Late Roman Republic

Abstract

AbstractInequality is determined by several forces of convergence and divergence. A full understanding of the nature of inequality in any given period requires us to understand as many of these forces of divergence and convergence as possible, even if we accept that Piketty’s theorem of r > g is the most significant force in the long term. This paper therefore focuses on a part of the puzzle that has largely been left outside the Pikettian model but that may offer complementary insights: human behaviour. It argues that the instinctive human drive for status interlinks with inequality. The form status competition in the late Roman Republic took acted partially as a brake on the growth of inequality but ultimately led to indebtment among the aristocracy and a consequent upwards transfer of wealth, leading to greater inequality.KeywordsInequalitySocial statusHuman behaviourInstinctConspicuous consumptionDebtVeblen