Thomas Piketty has intentionally given his latest book the title of Capital in the 21st Century,1 echoing that of Karl Marx’s Das Capital.2 It has caught the attention of American liberals as no other economic book since John Kenneth Galbraith’s historical effusions. Also, as anything the American left enthuses about is sure to be eagerly picked up by European socialists, Piketty is now all the rage this side of the Atlantic. Paul Krugman has helped with his fervid plug of the tome in the New York Review of Books,3 now reproduced by high circulation newspapers, such as Le Monde in Paris and El País in Madrid. The “Piketty tsunami”, as Martin Wolf of the Financial Times has called it, will not recede soon. The book is attractively written, with an abundance of historical and literary references that leaven its lengthy pages. Its very physical weight gives it authority. The statistical apparatus enshrined in its tables and graphs adorns it with a scientific aura. Its watered down Marxism chimes in well with egalitarians of all hues in the developed world. Despite some Piketty fatigue having set in, the book deserves serious examination as its arguments will be an essential part of the armory of left-leaning liberals and anti-market conservatives both in America and in Europe for a long time to come.
The views expressed on austriancenter.com are not necessarily those of the Austrian Economics Center.
Do you like the article?
We are glad you do! Please consider donating if you want to read more articles like this one.
Warning: Undefined array key "visual_appearance" in /austriancenter.com/subdomains/www/html/wp-content/plugins/give/src/Views/Form/Templates/Classic/Classic.php on line 203
Comment
|
June 10th, 2014
Piketty Fever
Image by © Dreamstime
by Pedro Schwartz
Thomas Piketty has intentionally given his latest book the title of Capital in the 21st Century,1 echoing that of Karl Marx’s Das Capital.2 It has caught the attention of American liberals as no other economic book since John Kenneth Galbraith’s historical effusions. Also, as anything the American left enthuses about is sure to be eagerly picked up by European socialists, Piketty is now all the rage this side of the Atlantic. Paul Krugman has helped with his fervid plug of the tome in the New York Review of Books,3 now reproduced by high circulation newspapers, such as Le Monde in Paris and El País in Madrid. The “Piketty tsunami”, as Martin Wolf of the Financial Times has called it, will not recede soon. The book is attractively written, with an abundance of historical and literary references that leaven its lengthy pages. Its very physical weight gives it authority. The statistical apparatus enshrined in its tables and graphs adorns it with a scientific aura. Its watered down Marxism chimes in well with egalitarians of all hues in the developed world. Despite some Piketty fatigue having set in, the book deserves serious examination as its arguments will be an essential part of the armory of left-leaning liberals and anti-market conservatives both in America and in Europe for a long time to come.
Continue to the Full Article…..
The views expressed on austriancenter.com are not necessarily those of the Austrian Economics Center.
Do you like the article?
We are glad you do! Please consider donating if you want to read more articles like this one.
Warning: Undefined array key "visual_appearance" in /austriancenter.com/subdomains/www/html/wp-content/plugins/give/src/Views/Form/Templates/Classic/Classic.php on line 203
Related
Comment
30 Years After the Wall: A Series of Articles
November 8th, 2019
Comment
The Menace and Immorality of the Welfare State
December 3rd, 2013
Comment
Do it Now?
May 6th, 2014
Comment
Is Greece Ready for a Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher?
January 8th, 2018
Comment
Hayek Award to Richard J Stephenson
December 9th, 2019