Capital in the twenty-first century

The Resource Capital in the twenty-first century
Label
Capital in the twenty-first century
Statement of responsibility
Thomas Piketty ; translated by Arthur Goldhammer
Title variation
Capital in the 21st century
Creator
Contributor
Subject
Language
  • eng
  • fre
  • eng
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 this wotk 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
Member of
Contributor
80z0m_HXGnQ
Subject
Genre
Tone
Cataloging source
DLC
Dewey number
332.041
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
HB501
LC item number
.P43613 2014
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
Target audience
adult
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