Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Hardcover, 685 pages

English language

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

ISBN:
978-0-674-43000-6
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
858914389

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (25 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 …

12 editions

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

5 stars

I originally read this when it was new, but decided to reread in advance of reading some of Piketty's other books, as I remembered very little of it beyond r>g. It's a slow read, thanks to the mountain of data presented in it, but well worth the time to read. Easily one of the most important books of the last decade.

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

5 stars

Piketty outlines the case for the inequality r>g (rate of return on capital > growth of overall economy) with extensive documentation. From this simple rule he describes the forces which lead to the rise of a rentier class that can live very well off inherited wealth which isn't necessarily socially useful. Ultimately I disagree with his solutions to this problem but it seems fairly hard to challenge the idea that wealth above a certain level tends to reproduce itself. Reinvestment of a portion of the returns on capital leads to a natural process of accumulation which Piketty argues will lead to a dangerous level of wealth concentration in the hands of a very few. Throughout the book he's very open about the strengths and weaknesses of his sources and openly declares his personal opinion about wealth accumulation. He did a tremendous amount of research and analysis and that's the main …

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

No rating

This was without a doubt the most important book I've read for a long time now. Its main theme is measuring inequality of wealth and income in as broad a scale as possible (given available data) for the past two centuries, and making observations about it.

As the author himself points out, a lot of economic theory has been based on speculation and poor data, and it is necessary for economists to start looking at the closest we have to the facts, i.e. data of this scale and sort. Piketty describes a few cases where economists' theories were based on very narrow data that was very biased and are immediately proven unsound once one takes a look at the data at a broader level.

The data presented by Piketty is astounding, both in volume and in content. From it arise surprising tidbits, like for example that the percentage of people …

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.

avatar for illusions_perdues

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ngs

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ianbishop

rated it

4 stars
avatar for julienmartlet

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Rbeagrie

rated it

5 stars
avatar for kwm

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Hirvox

rated it

4 stars
avatar for sab

rated it

5 stars
avatar for EricLawton

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Shtakser

rated it

4 stars
avatar for narinarinari

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Lavinia

rated it

4 stars
avatar for cibertina

rated it

4 stars
avatar for js

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Applemcg

rated it

5 stars

Lists