On the Rise and Fall of Class Societies

This paper develops a theoretical framework to understand mechanisms behind the rise and fall of class societies. The dynamics is described by the joint evolution of the wage rate, the vertical division of labor between employers and workers, and the distribution of household wealth. The model is simple enough to allow for a complete characterization of the steady states. For some parameter values, the model predicts the rise of class societies, where the households are permanently separated into the two classes in any steady state. The rich bourgeoisie maintain a high level of wealth due to the presence of the poor proletariat, which has no choice but to work at a wage rate strictly lower than the "fair" value of labor. For other parameter values, the model predicts the fall of class societies, where job creation by the rich employers pushes up the wage rate so much that the workers will escape from the poverty and eventually catch up with the rich. Thus, the wealth created by the rich trickles down to the poor, and, in the steady state, the inequality disappears. As an application, this framework is used to study the effects of self-employment, which provides the poor with an alternative to working for the rich, and at the same time, provides the rich with an alternative to the job creating investment, which could benefit the poor.