In the first part of our “brief history”, we wondered about the origin and the definition of wealth, which varies according to socio-political systems. Can we date its origin? What did it correspond to in prehistory? Were hunter-gatherer societies as egalitarian as we imagine? Did the inequalities really appear with the first cities? According to anthropologist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow, things are not so simple.
There is nothing natural about extreme wealth, and those who possess it constantly strive to legitimize its existence and maintain control of political power. To avoid social unrest, limitation mechanisms appear: obligation to spend for the general interest (liturgies in ancient Greece, euergetism in Rome, etc.), Christian donation, sumptuary laws, tax.
During the Middle Ages, the question of wealth torments the Church: it does not correspond to the message of Christ, but it reflects the “fructification” of humanity willed by God. Above all, concentrated in the hands of lords, bishops and monasteries, it is the cement of the society of orders that is Christianity. The Renaissance marks a turning point, with the appearance of new commercial and financial fortunes, the rise of Protestantism, and the great maritime expeditions.
Find the full first part of this story here:
Spoils of war, privileges, so c
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