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 this work the author 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 transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality. He 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 if political action is not taken. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, the author says, and may do so again. This original work reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

An introduction to Thomas Piketty’s monumental work US Nobel Prize–winner Paul Krugman described Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century as “perhaps the most important book of the last decade.” It has sparked major international debates, dominated bestseller lists and generated a level of enthusiasm—as well as intense criticism—in a way no other economic or sociological work has in a long time. Piketty has been described as a new Karl Marx and placed in the same league as the economist John Maynard Keynes. The “rock star economist’s” underlying thesis is that inequality under capitalism has reached dramatic levels in the last few decades and continues to grow—and that this is not by chance. A small elite is making itself richer and richer and acquiring everincreasing levels of power. Given the sensational reception of Piketty’s not-so-easily digested 800-page study, the question as to where the hype around the book comes from deserves to be asked. What does it get right? And what should we make of it—both of the book itself and of the criticism it has received? This introduction lays out the argument of Piketty’s monumental work in a compact and understandable format, while also investigating the controversies Piketty has stirred up. In addition, the two authors demonstrate the limits, contradictions and errors of the so-called Piketty revolution.

Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the Twenty-First Century has enjoyed great success and provides a new theory about wealth and inequality. However, there have been major criticisms of his work. Anti-Piketty: Capital for the 21st Century collects key criticisms from 20 specialists—economists, historians, and tax experts—who provide rigorous arguments against Piketty's work while examining the notions of inequality, growth, wealth, and capital.

This volume builds upon the renewed interest in the long-run global development of wealth and inequality stimulated by Thomas Piketty. It brings together an international team of leading economic historians and economists to provide a comprehensive overview of the theory, practice, and policy of inequality and its place in the modern world order.

Condensed into a detailed analysis and a selection of continent-wide datasets, this revised edition of World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century addresses the role of educational attainment in global population trends and models. Presenting the full chapter text of the original edition alongside a concise selection of data, it summarizes past trends in fertility, mortality, migration, and education, and examines relevant theories to identify key determining factors. Deriving from a global survey of hundreds of experts and five expert meetings on as many continents, World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century: An Overview emphasizes alternative trends in human capital, new ways of studying ageing and the quantification of alternative population, and education pathways in the context of global sustainable development. It is an ideal companion to the county specific online Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer.

A New York Times Bestseller An NPR Best Book of the Year The epic successor to one of the most important books of the century: at once a retelling of global history, a scathing critique of contemporary politics, and a bold proposal for a new and fairer economic system. Thomas Piketty’s bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system. Our economy, Piketty observes, is not a natural fact. Markets, profits, and capital are all historical constructs that depend on choices. Piketty explores the material and ideological interactions of conflicting social groups that have given us slavery, serfdom, colonialism, communism, and hypercapitalism, shaping the lives of billions. He concludes that the great driver of human progress over the centuries has been the struggle for equality and education and not, as often argued, the assertion of property rights or the pursuit of stability. The new era of extreme inequality that has derailed that progress since the 1980s, he shows, is partly a reaction against communism, but it is also the fruit of ignorance, intellectual specialization, and our drift toward the dead-end politics of identity. Once we understand this, we can begin to envision a more balanced approach to economics and politics. Piketty argues for a new “participatory” socialism, a system founded on an ideology of equality, social property, education, and the sharing of knowledge and power. Capital and Ideology is destined to be one of the indispensable books of our time, a work that will not only help us understand the world, but that will change it.

How would Marx have understood twenty-first-century capitalism? For Buzgalin and Kolganov, the answer lies in a theoretical investigation of how and why the fundamental elements of capitalism– commodities, money and capital – have changed since the publication of Marx’s Capital more than 150 years ago. Introducing the concepts of social creativity, markets for simulacra and virtual fictitious capital – Buzgalin and Kolganov offer a recovery and development of Marx’s understanding of social transformations. Twenty-first century capitalism not only demonstrates Marxism’s relevance to the core economic questions of our time and its superiority over neoclassical economics, but it leads English-language readers into the ‘undiscovered country’ of Soviet and post-Soviet critical Marxism. How might modern Marxism respond to the contemporary challenges of the commodification of knowledge and information? And can it arrive at something resembling a Capital for the twenty-first century? This accessible and comprehensive account is essential reading for those wanting to understand the problems of the modern economy.

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year “An intellectual excursion of a kind rarely offered by modern economics.” —Foreign Affairs Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the most widely discussed work of economics in recent years. But are its analyses of inequality and economic growth on target? Where should researchers go from there in exploring the ideas Piketty pushed to the forefront of global conversation? A cast of leading economists and other social scientists—including Emmanuel Saez, Branko Milanovic, Laura Tyson, and Michael Spence—tackle these questions in dialogue with Piketty. “A fantastic introduction to Piketty’s main argument in Capital, and to some of the main criticisms, including doubt that his key equation...showing that returns on capital grow faster than the economy—will hold true in the long run.” —Nature “Piketty’s work...laid bare just how ill-equipped our existing frameworks are for understanding, predicting, and changing inequality. This extraordinary collection shows that our most nimble social scientists are responding to the challenge.” —Justin Wolfers, University of Michigan

Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the 21st Century has already attracted more serious attention than any economics book published in the last seventy-five years. This collection of 17 essays by some of the world's most prominent economists explores Piketty's book at depth and from various vantage points. Here is what economists around the world are already saying about this book. "Marx's Capital is strong on theory but, it detractors allege, weak on data. In a dialectic worthy of Hegel himself, the critics assembled here argue that Piketty's Capital stands opposite to Marx's, as strong on data but weak on theory. This combination--plus its exquisite timing--explains it critical acclaim. The juxtaposition of economic stagnation and obscene inequality in the aftermath of the financial crisis made it impossible for mainstream economists to continue ignoring inequality, let alone applauding it as they have done for so long. Piketty made it possible for them to acknowledge it without abandoning their comforting but false mainstream theories of capitalism. These authors in this volume applaud Piketty for his contribution to empirical knowledge, but reject his views on how this inequality came about. The true Capital for the 21st century is still yet to be written." - Steve Keen, Kingston University, London "Neoclassical economics spawned a utopian belief in capitalism with unregulated market forces. Thomas Piketty's empirical analysis has dealt a fatal blow to that belief by highlighting the recent huge redistributions of income and wealth to the ultra-rich. This raises a fundamental question for people around the world: How do we achieve a better world through economic policies? This global collection addresses that question and explores theoretical explanations for Piketty's empirical findings." - Ping Chen, Fudan University and Peking University, China "Are the theoretical explanations proposed by Thomas Piketty of the rising inequalities valid? What is the meaning of his first and second "laws" of capitalism? This book is indispensable for anyone seeking answers to these questions." - Andre Orlean, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris "By examining Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century from different angles, the 18 contributors to this invaluable book add enormously to our understanding of inequality and of policy options for reducing it. They point to the lack of a distinction between rentier income and earned income, to the severe limits of marginal productivity theory that Piketty employs and to the utopian nature of Piketty's only suggested remedy. - Norbert Haering, Economics Editor, Handelsblatt, Germany "Piketty's book Capital in the Twentieth Century served the cause of drawing the world's attention to inequality under capitalism in the long haul, based on a fresh and innovative look at new evidence. This book serves that cause even better by focusing on the inadequacies of Piketty's analysis of the processes and mechanisms leading to that inequality, and, therefore, on what needs to be done to address it." - C. P. Chandrasekhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi "Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century was the publishing sensation of 2104, focussing the world's attention on the huge and continuing growth in inequality that poses a serious economic, political and social threat to us all. In this important new book, 18 economists from Europe, North America and Asia offer sympathetic but critical appraisals of Piketty's theoretical framework, his empirical analysis and his radical policy proposals. This is not the last word on Piketty - whatever could be? - but it is indispensable reading for everyone who is interested in one of the most important challenges of our time." - John King, La Trobe University, Australia

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century reached the top of most best-seller lists last year shortly after it was released. Nonetheless, few people actually read the book. Yet reviewers have agreed that the book is important because it touches on one of the major problems facing the US economy, the UK economy and many developed nations: rising income and wealth inequality. It also provides an explanation of the problem and a policy solution: a global wealth tax. This book is intended to do three things. First, it provides a summary of the argument of Piketty’s book, which many people have bought and few people have read. Second, it fills in some of the gaps in the book, by providing readers with the background that is needed to understand the volume and the argument. This background information discusses economic data sources, measures of inequality and why income inequality is such an important issue today. Finally, the work provides a defense of Piketty’s analysis and at times some criticism of his work. Pressman explains why the problem of rising inequality is important, where Piketty’s data comes from, and the strengths and weaknesses of that data. It defends Piketty’s inequality, r>g, as the reason inequality has risen over the past several decades in many developed nations. Using Piketty’s own data, this book argues that rising inequality is not just a characteristic of capitalism, but results from different growth rates for income and wealth, which can occur under any type of economic system. Understanding Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the ideal introduction to one of the most important books of recent years for anyone interested in Piketty’s work and the inevitability of inequality.