The book is good where Piketty keeps close to his own research, following long-term trends and international comparisons using well-ordered numerical evidence.

He covers an enormous sweep of history, including Europe of the Middle Ages, slavery in Europe's colonies and the USA, Indian society before, during and after British domination, the successes and failings of social democratic parties, disappointments with the EU and his proposals for a new policy agenda to achieve what he describes as 'participatory socialism'. 656) of what he calls 'inequality regimes', including enough countries to encompass most of the globe. This new book purports to present a 'first comprehensive map' (p. 2021 72:106–124.Thomas Piketty gained a worldwide reputation with his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Piketty, 2014), analysing changes in inequality in personal wealth and incomes over recent centuries in the world's wealthier countries. They claim that understanding extractive histories, imbedded wealth inequalities, and complex social and political institutions allows us to understand and confront some of the reasons why even in light of progressive policies, many of which are in line with the proposals from Piketty, government interventions have thus far failed to reduce inequality.įabio Diaz, Murray Leibbrandt, Vimal Ranchhod, Mike Savage. Piketty is aware that the levels of inequality in South Africa are so high that this is “unknown territory.” They map out some of this territory to reveal how these extreme initial wealth and racial inequities inform the reproduction of inequalities in all dimensions and undermine well intentioned policies. They emphasise that the long shadow cast by centuries of colonialism and various forms of apartheid strongly affirm Piketty's emphasis on understanding history.īut this is both affirmation and critique given the foundational, imbedded impact that this specific legacy has had on post‐apartheid society and its policies. They review a battery of policy interventions that have been implemented to address inequality in the last 25 years.

They reflect on the South African case, the structure of inequality and its changes since 1994. In this paper, the authors interrogate Piketty's analysis and policy proposals against specificities that are central to understanding the production and reproduction of inequalities within South Africa. This paper pushes this agenda further by acknowledging that the experience of a few developed nations should not be taken as the template for the generalised study of inequality dynamics across time and space. One of the most valuable features of Capital and Ideology is its concern to take history seriously and consider how the emergence of different political and economic regimes relate to discourses about fairness and justice across time.

Thomas piketty ideology