Capital et idéologie - Mille feuilles

1180 pages

Published March 25, 2019

(1 review)

Capital and Ideology (French: Capital et Idéologie) is a 2019 book by French economist Thomas Piketty. Capital and Ideology follows Piketty's 2013 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which focused on wealth and income inequality in Europe and the United States. Described by Piketty as "in large part a sequel" to its predecessor, Capital and Ideology has a wider scope, and Piketty has expressed his preference for the 2019 book. In the book, Piketty outlines potential means of redistributing wealth, and explores historical and contemporary justifications for inequality. Paul Krugman wrote of the book, "In Marxian dogma, a society's class structure is determined by underlying, impersonal forces, technology and the modes of production that technology dictates. Piketty, however, sees inequality as a social phenomenon, driven by human institutions. Institutional change, in turn, reflects the ideology that dominates society: 'Inequality is neither economic nor technological; it is ideological and political.'" Methods …

Capital and Ideology (French: Capital et Idéologie) is a 2019 book by French economist Thomas Piketty. Capital and Ideology follows Piketty's 2013 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, which focused on wealth and income inequality in Europe and the United States. Described by Piketty as "in large part a sequel" to its predecessor, Capital and Ideology has a wider scope, and Piketty has expressed his preference for the 2019 book. In the book, Piketty outlines potential means of redistributing wealth, and explores historical and contemporary justifications for inequality. Paul Krugman wrote of the book, "In Marxian dogma, a society's class structure is determined by underlying, impersonal forces, technology and the modes of production that technology dictates. Piketty, however, sees inequality as a social phenomenon, driven by human institutions. Institutional change, in turn, reflects the ideology that dominates society: 'Inequality is neither economic nor technological; it is ideological and political.'" Methods for redistributing wealth proposed in the book include the "inheritance for all", a payment distributed to citizens by their country at the age of 25.

4 editions

bwaber@bookwyrm.social reviewed Capital and ideology by Thomas Piketty

A comprehensive book with a strong Western focus

4 stars

This is a massive tome on the complex interactions between economics and politics and how these interactions lead to different levels of inequality. Piketty provides a broad survey of economic concepts around inequality, as well as an in depth review of shifting political preferences.

The book shines when it's focused on historical trends, particularly the lasting impact of slavery and colonialism both economically and politically. It suffers a bit from an only cursory examination of countries that avoid many of the issues Piketty identifies, such as South Korea and Japan, and far too much time examining trends in France, the UK, and the US. Given Piketty's background this is understandable, but I would've liked those pages swapped for a deeper examination of other topics.

I really liked the shocking histories of Sweden, which went from being one of the most unequal countries of the world (allocating votes based on land …

This is a massive tome on the complex interactions between economics and politics and how these interactions lead to different levels of inequality. Piketty provides a broad survey of economic concepts around inequality, as well as an in depth review of shifting political preferences.

The book shines when it's focused on historical trends, particularly the lasting impact of slavery and colonialism both economically and politically. It suffers a bit from an only cursory examination of countries that avoid many of the issues Piketty identifies, such as South Korea and Japan, and far too much time examining trends in France, the UK, and the US. Given Piketty's background this is understandable, but I would've liked those pages swapped for a deeper examination of other topics.

I really liked the shocking histories of Sweden, which went from being one of the most unequal countries of the world (allocating votes based on land ownership, even giving votes to companies), and the extractive and unequal history of French colonialism in the Caribbean.

Still, Piketty succeeds in identifying the outsized influence of the power of capital and ideology in shaping how inequality develops. Rather than being an iron law of the universe, this book lays out an unassailable case for taking on inequality through ideological and policy changes.

This is a very macro focused book, and the few places where Piketty examines micro and corporate governance issues are fairly poor and uninformed, but thankfully those portions are only a small part of the book.