Visions of Inequality traces the intellectual history of economic inequality through the work of six influential economists spanning two centuries. Branko Milanovic, a leading scholar of global inequality at the City University of New York, examines how Francois Quesnay, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, Vilfredo Pareto, and Simon Kuznets each conceptualized the distribution of income and wealth in their societies. Milanovic shows how classical economists embedded inequality within class-based frameworks, viewing income distribution as determined by one's role in production—whether as landowner, capitalist, or worker. He then documents how this class-based approach was gradually eclipsed in the twentieth century by analyses focused on individual characteristics like education and skills. The book reveals surprising continuities and ruptures in economic thought, demonstrating how each thinker's vision was shaped by the particular historical circumstances of their era. Milanovic's comparative analysis illuminates why some questions about inequality that seemed central to earlier economists have disappeared from contemporary discourse, while others have emerged. For readers seeking to understand the intellectual foundations of today's debates about wealth concentration and economic justice, this work provides essential historical context.