Wednesday Seminar Series: Dr. Guido Alfani, University of Bocconi

As Gods Among Men. A History of the Rich in the West

Wednesday, February 7, 2024 12:00 PM to 1:15 PM EST
Carow Hall, 1

The Wednesday Seminar Series, now over 40 years old, invites scholars from around the world to share their work in a formal lecture, which is followed by a rigorous question and answer session. The Spring 2024 seminars will be hosted by Dr. Jonathan Schulz and coordinated by Lisa Hill-Corley. All papers made available will be posted on this site for downloading. For more information, call the Center: (703) 993-2316.

In person seminars will be held from 12 - 1:15 PM in Carow Hall, which is on George Mason University's Fairfax campus. 

A light lunch for seminar participants will be available at 11:30 AM.

Click here to see a list of our Spring 2024 schedule of speakers.

 

Abstract: 

Who were the rich, in history, and how did they obtain their wealth? Did they play the same role in society, and were they perceived in the same manner, in the past as today? A recent book, As Gods Among Men. A History of the Rich in the West, upon which this seminar is based, attempts to provide a general history of the characteristics, the behavior and the relative economic and social position of the rich and the super-rich. Covering the last thousand years, with frequent incursions into antiquity, and integrating recent research on economic inequality, the book highlights —despite the different paths to wealth in different eras—fundamental continuities in the behavior of the rich and public attitudes towards wealth across Western history. It also offers a novel perspective on current debates about wealth and income disparity.

As Gods Among Men argues that the position of the rich and especially the super-rich in Western society has always been intrinsically fragile; their very presence has inspired social unease. In the Middle Ages, an excessive accumulation of wealth was considered sinful; the rich were expected not to appear to be wealthy. Eventually, the rich were deemed useful when they used their wealth to help their communities in times of crisis. Yet in the twenty-first century the rich and the super-rich—their wealth largely preserved through the Great Recession and COVID-19—have been exceptionally reluctant to contribute to the common good in times of crisis, rejecting even such stopgap measures as temporary tax increases. History suggests that this is a troubling development—for the rich, and for everyone else.