The Apparatus of Abasement, and the Revolt against Rank

On the threshold of the modern age—say in the year 1750 or so—human societies were marked by two distinct types of inequality. There was inequality of wealth, just as there is today. But there was also inequality in something that must be carefully distinguished from wealth: rank. Not only were there rich and poor. There were nobles and commoners, high caste and low caste, and much more. Inequality of wealth has survived the upheavals of the last three centuries. Indeed, the gap between rich and poor is startlingly little changed. But the enforcement of rank, once managed through an elaborate apparatus of abasement, has disappeared. This is one of the master themes of modern history, and it can only be understood if we grapple with the long and complex legal history of abasement.