Piketty Capital in the Twenty-First Century

The book offers a new perspective on the problem of inequality.

In "Capital in the Twenty-First Century," Thomas Piketty proposed a new view on the problem that has attracted increasing attention in recent decades — the problem of inequality. Analyzing a... vast amount of data, the French economist discovered the following pattern. All else being equal, rapid economic growth reduces the role of capital and its concentration in private hands and leads to a decrease in inequality, while a slowdown in growth results in an increase in the significance of capital and an increase in inequality. In historical retrospect — and Piketty's book covers an enormous period from the early eighteenth century to the present day — the rise of capital's influence was interrupted only in the twentieth century as a consequence of two world wars and the Keynesian policies of the Glorious Thirty Years (1945–1975).

Today, the world is returning to a situation where inequality is steadily increasing, which could lead to severe social and political consequences. However, unlike Karl Marx, with whom Piketty is often compared, the Frenchman does not limit himself to a grim statement of the existing situation and does not predict the collapse of the capitalist system. He proposes measures that could help curb adverse trends.