All you ever wanted to know on capital

Fascinating subject: Why capital tends to be concentrated naturally? What is the current level of concentration, and how to compare it to what it was at the beginning of the twentieth century? How are positioned labor income and capital, and how that position changes over time? How are born the inequalities in labor income, capital income or assets, and what are the factors that tend to increase or reduce the contrary? Is wealth a reliable indicator of merit? How to reconcile democracy and meritocracy? What prospects for the XXI century?

These are questions that Piketty provides a simple and credible answer, based on the analysis of impressive statistics series, with admirable intellectual honesty. As the debate right / left is unfortunately unavoidable in France, no doubt that will be taxed Piketty of leftism. And in fact, his heart leans more in favor of the underprivileged than the wealthy. Which will adversely affect him? But his reason is positioning itself as much as possible on neutral ground, and he does not mind affirm the merits of capitalism or to denounce the failure of socialist ideologies. Claiming equal rights while accepting the fundamental inequality of life is not that complicated. Piketty book an economist work, which can easily and usefully feed the political debate, but he is careful not to get into that debate.

It lacks little to a perfect score. On the form, a lot of repetitions, repetitions and summaries that facilitate understanding and memorization, but all could hold 500 pages instead of 950 without losing its effectiveness.

Furthermore, the recommendations in Part IV are totally utopian, and moreover presented as such. Their educational value remains, certainly, but give rise to some frustration, because the book does not seem to lead to much in practice. Piketty contains both coordination between countries as indispensable, and the inevitability of tax competition between them, obviously antithetical any coordination. No chance!

Finally, analysis of the rise of a certain type of capitalism in the Anglo-Saxon countries deserve more depth and further attention to the key role of pension funds and innovative remuneration options type. Everything can not be explained by a will, real, liberalization at all costs. Understanding the cause does not explain how. And how is important to implement corrective adjustments, which are still lacking to date. The mantra for a global tax on capital is not enough to give the keys.

In short, a must read for understanding the basic mechanisms and historical playback helpful and interesting, all providing a very effective means of interpreting the present time. In noting As issues still open, perhaps to be treated in a Volume 2?