Capital in the Twenty-First Century

by Thomas Piketty

Hardcover

English language

Published Aug. 8, 2013 by Éditions du Seuil, Harvard University Press.

ISBN:: 978-0-674-43000-6

(4 reviews)

What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.

Piketty shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality--the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth--today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, Piketty says, and may do so again.

A work of extraordinary ambition, originality, and rigor, Capital in the Twenty-First Century reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

(Original text from the spine of the book)

3 editions

PeterB reviewed Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty

Review of 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

In Capital in the 21th Century, Piketty investigates the changes that have occurred over the last two centuries in capital and in its distribution across the globe and across people. He also tries to figure out where it is all heading.

Concluding that there's nothing really keeping big money from growing faster than the capital of less fortunate people, he discusses possible solutions to make the distribution more even (most importantly wealth tax)

The book took me a very long time to read. While it may not look like it, it's pretty slow to read because Piketty tends to go into longwinded and detailed analysis of seemingly uninteresting facts. The reason he does, is to make sure that people understand to which depths he went to come to his conclusions.

All-in-all, I found this a very interesting read, although, I would have preferred a more condensed version, that's more focused …

cjhubbs reviewed Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty

Review of 'Capital in the Twenty-First Century' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'm no economist, but to my ears Piketty makes a reasonable, readable, and engaging case for a new sort of tax to help close the growing disparity between the world's richest and poorest peoples.

Piketty recognizes that this sort of global tax is a utopia, but fails to acknowledge the sad truth that as long as the richest have a disproportionately loud voice in political decisions, nothing will ever change.

PedalHoppy

rated it

July 22, 2014

Nacho

rated it

July 3, 2017