'This fascinating and refreshing book is more necessary than ever. A must-read' -- Thomas Piketty - author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century

'Fascinating' - New York Times

'An important examination of the past, present, and future of a key concept of political thinking' - Kirkus

'Darrin McMahon once again delivers a brilliant intellectual history of one of humanity's most important and least understood ideas. Sweeping, incisive, and provocative, Equality is nothing short of a masterpiece' -- Daniel Gilbert - author of the New York Times-bestselling Stumbling on Happiness

'In this ambitious book, McMahon places equality at the center of human history, showing us how elastic and unruly the concept is and illustrating struggles over its meaning continue to be central touchstones for our contemporary moment. This intellectual and political history is a critical resource in our age of inequality' -- Adom Getachew - author of Worldmaking after Empire

'McMahon's Equality is a magisterial and path-breaking history of the dialectic of equality and inequality, which has always been and remains today indispensable to understand the history of humanity' -- Siep Stuurman - author of The Invention of Humanity

'McMahon's Equality is a remarkable book full of penetrating insights, good humor, and hard truths' -- Teresa M. Bejan, University of Oxford

'This is an essential book for thinking about the most pressing issues of our time. We instinctively react against inequality yet have confused and conflicting ideas about how to make equality a reality. McMahon explains why equality remains so elusive' -- Lynn Hunt - author of Inventing Human Rights

'McMahon's book is a rare general study of the topic... Sweeping and discerning' - Library Journal

'A meticulous and thoughtful account' - Publishers Weekly

'A landmark work of inte