Inequality in Ancient Rome and Modern America

[marmar]

via truthdig:



Inequality in Ancient Rome and Modern America
Posted on Dec 21, 2011


Historians used the Gini coefficient, a modern measure of wealth inequality, to compare disparities between the classes in the Roman Empire 150 years after the death of Christ and those in the United States today. The ancients, with their ranks of plebeians, patricians and senators, scored slightly better than we did.

To become a ruling Roman, would-be senators had to be worth at least 1 million Roman sesterces. Most were far wealthier, with the average worth well over 5 million sesterces.

Today, the Center for Responsive Politics calculates a U.S. senator’s average estimated wealth was $13.2 million in 2010, and a U.S. House member’s was $5.9 million. The median American household pulls in about $54,000 per year. —ARK

Per Square Mile:

To determine the size of the Roman economy and the distribution of income, historians Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen pored over papyri ledgers, previous scholarly estimates, imperial edicts, and Biblical passages. Their target was the state of the economy when the empire was at its population zenith, around 150 C.E. Schiedel and Friesen estimate that the top 1 percent of Roman society controlled 16 percent of the wealth, less than half of what America’s top 1 percent control. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://persquaremile.com/2011/12/16/income-inequality-in-the-roman-empire/

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/inequality_in_ancient_rome_and_modern_america_20111221/

[Laelth]

1. Interesting and insightful. Thanks. k&r n/t

-Laelth