The history of capitalism is a narrative of the intricate intersection between state power, finance, and social stratification rather than a simple tale of market efficiency. While specific production factors are well-studied, a critical gap remains in linking macroeconomic shifts to their distributional consequences. Specifically, we must determine how fiscal states shaped markets and whether past institutional choices exacerbated or mitigated inequality. Failing to connect macro-level policies to micro-level outcomes—such as elite persistence and social mobility—obscures the political economy driving growth. Furthermore, the lack of integrated, long-run datasets, particularly beyond Northwestern Europe, hinders our ability to compare how various institutional arrangements historically produced both economic progress and systemic disparity.