Global history

Society

After slavery

Economic history

Poverty and development

History

Rich witches

Subcultures

Work

The tyranny of work

Architecture

Culture

Last acre

Home

Economics for the people

Economics

Public health

Thirty glorious years

Politics and government

Progress and modernity

Time-based currency by Robert Owen

Thinkers and theories

Information and communication

The billionaire curse

Political philosophy

Counting China

Mathematics

The fist of modernity

Human rights and justice

Tea and capitalism

Food and drink

Private gain must no longer be allowed to elbow out the public good

The dark shadow in the injunction to ‘do what you love’

The rumour about the Jews

Religion

Animals and humans

Turn and live with animals

Environmental history

We have the tools and technology to work less and live better

Mammon

Values and beliefs

The economics of bubbles

Future of technology

Cities

The first global city

Nations and empires

The story of government cheese

A radical legal ideology nurtured our era of economic inequality

Scots running amok

How Adam Smith became a (surprising) hero to conservative economists

American bull

Essays and videos on social issues, history, political life and the future

Society Essays from Aeon. World-leading thinkers explore big ideas from history, politics, economics, sociology, philosophy, archaeology and anthropology, and more.