Written by Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer
Format: MP3 Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
Length: 25 hrs and 3 mins Format: Unabridged Release Date:05-22-14
Publisher's Summary 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 20 countries, ranging as far back as the 18th 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
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly unique work for this generation, April 24, 2014 By Aguadito - See all my reviews Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)
EDIT: I would like to point out that it is ridiculous that literally all of the 1-star reviews (except for one that I counted) for this book are from people who did not purchase the book or even read it. It looks like there was some kind of invasion from April 22nd of right-wingers who were told this book is "communist" or something to make a 1-star vote just to bring down the rating of the book. Amazon should not allow this kind of manipulation, and should limit reviews only to those who are verified customers that purchased this book. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. As a former Libertarian who realized the path quickly leads to oligarchy with such an ideology, Piketty's book is a wonderful reminder of just how wrong I was back then. The empirical work he has done in assembling the income and wealth concentration for countries is simply invaluable. We have some data like gini and labor vs. capital income, but to meticulously collect and analyze... Read more 5.0 out of 5 stars A relentless drive toward inequality, March 11, 2014 By Adam - See all my reviews This review is from: Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Kindle Edition)
Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" is a brilliant analysis of the long term distribution of income and wealth. The book draws on reams of data from the United States and numerous other countries. Most of the data comes from income tax records and estate tax/inheritance records. The sheer quantity of data that underlies Piketty's conclusions is unprecedented, and as a result his work deserves a great deal of credibility. While the book is quite long, the major conclusion can be summarized very briefly: Piketty has found that, over the long run, the return on capital is higher than the growth rate of the overall economy. In other words, accumulated and inherited wealth becomes a larger fraction of the economic pie over time. This happens more or less automatically, and there is no reason to believe this trend will change or reverse course. Although Piketty does not focus on it, there is also an argument that modern technologies like robotics and AI could... Read more 5.0 out of 5 stars An important book (in both the English and French senses of the word), March 17, 2014 By A. J. Sutter (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)
This is a monumental work about inequality. Despite the title's allusion to Marx's classic (a point emphasized by the dust jacket design), it's neither a primarily theoretical nor a primarily polemical work, though it has elements of both theory and advocacy. Nor is its author (TP) a radical: he taught at MIT, and is thoroughly at home in the concepts and categories of mainstream neoclassical theory. Nonetheless, I think even many who hold less orthodox views about economics will find this book stimulating, valuable and sympathetic in many respects. And all readers ought to find it disturbing. In the ultra-long comments below, I begin with the book's audience and style (§ 1); then turn to some of the book's main arguments, which are more nuanced than usually reported (§§ 2-6); then to some things that are unclear or missing (§§ 7-8); and I end with some comments about the book's production (§ 9) and some concluding remarks.