Chronicles

Reviews

Piketty has transformed our economic discourse. We'll never talk about wealth and inequality the same way we used to Amazing, inspiring, forward-thinking, and pragmatic. There is a pattern forming -- Marx, Keynes, Piketty. As our world changes the surest explanations and most practical solutions change in turn The most important work of political economy to be published in decades Piketty's treatment of inequality is perfectly matched to its moment ... [He] has emerged as a rock star of the policy-intellectual world ... His work richly deserves all the attention it is receiving The author, an inequality expert, is distinguished. The work is acclaimed. The book's empirical detail is already the stuff of legend Piketty's economic analysis and historical proofs are breathtaking French economist Thomas Piketty has written an extraordinarily important book. Open-minded readers will surely find themselves unable to ignore the evidence and arguments he has brought to bear Capital has enraptured the left and infuriated the right The questions explored in these brilliant essays cut to the heart of our failing economic and democratic systems. If you have been influenced by Piketty's landmark work on inequality, make sure to read this next. The strength of Piketty's book is his close attention to the different sources of inequality, the massive documentation underpinning his history and conclusions, and his impressive culls from sociology and literature, which exhibit the richness of 'political economy' compared to its thin mathematical successor that has attained such prominence. [...] Piketty's book is a timely intervention in the current debate about inequality and its causes The strength of his thesis is that it is founded on evidence rather than ideology. Piketty has researched data over more than a century in order to derive his understanding of the dynamics of modern capitalism ... What Piketty has done is provide a strong factual understanding for how modern capitalist economies diverge from the image of risk-taking and productive commercial activity. At the very least, the book effectively debunks the notion that there is an economic imperative for low tax rates and a smaller state A book of such magisterial sweep... Piketty deserves huge credit for kickstarting a debate about inequality and illuminating the distribution of income and wealth Seven hundred pages on the evolution of inequality in economically advanced societies by the most fashionable new theorist to emerge for a long time. Many have been waiting for such a comprehensive critique of capitalism Expand reviews