In his latest monumental book, Thomas Piketty continues his reflection on social inequalities on a global scale, trying to show, contrary to popular belief, that they are not natural but are generated by “conservative ideologies and discourses”. According to him, the legitimacy of these inequalities throughout history is based on simulacra of objectification. He denounces in particular the “proprietary ideology” based on the right of ownership inherited from the French Revolution, which is supposed to guarantee the stability of institutions and avoid “generalized chaos”. He perceives in individual property a “particular form of social domination”. He formulates proposals aimed at eradicating the concentration of wealth and promoting “the circulation of capital”: confiscatory tax on capital of up to 90% of income; universal endowment of capital to each citizen… Opening up a 3rd way between capitalism and collectivism, he finally advocates a development of co-management of companies between shareholders and employees.  Thomas Piketty’s previous book (“Capital in the 21st Century”) had been criticized by economists for its methods and sometimes questionable statistical sources. This latest book meets the skepticism of political economists for its sometimes questionable scientific ethics, because the author “is careful not to measure the economic and social consequences of “going beyond private property”. The book raises various questions about the reasons for its success. Is it a provocation to neo-liberal economists? Does it call for the advent of a new crypto-collectivist system?  Is it trying to launch a new movement of “French theory” on American campuses? Is it a new encyclopedic curiosity? review by J-J.Pluchart

A bestseller in economic literature, Thomas Piketty’s book Capital in the 21st Century (sold nearly 2.5 million copies) attempts to demonstrate the fundamental inequality that generates a return on capital higher than the growth rate of the economy (r> g), but it has been the subject of much criticism. French liberal economists – such as Alain Madelin, Henri Lepage and Nicolas Baverez – have challenged the assumptions, reasoning, figures and graphs presented by the author. The collective led by Nicolas Lecaussin and Jean-Philippe Delsol – which includes twenty economists, historians and tax experts, including Daron Acemoglu, Martin Feldstein and James A. Robinson – argues that Thomas Piketty’s thesis is more political than economic. The authors claim that economic and social inequalities have not exploded, but rather have been reduced in several areas (including education and health). They consider that “the rich do not eat the bread of the poor”, but that they give it to them, taking risks and creating millions of jobs. Wealth cannot indefinitely grow faster than economic growth, and excessive taxation does not solve problems but rather exacerbates them. According to the authors, Thomas Piketty’s data seem to be used for essentially ideological purposes. The collective proposes “a reasoned and reasonable argument” opposed to the ideology qualified as “Marxist essence” by Thomas Piketty, by opposing academic criticism and contradictory facts. They recall the main scientific criticisms against “Pikettymania” and denounce its simplistic and populist theses. Jean-Philippe Delsol is a director of the Association for Economic Freedom and Social Progress (ALEPS). Nicolas Lecaussin is the Director of Development at the Institute for Economic and Fiscal Research (IREF).

The author observes, like Tocqueville, an increasingly unequal distribution of income from capital and labor. His thesis is based on the hypothesis of a return on capital (consisting of natural resources, infrastructure and public and private facilities, net of debt) always higher than the economic growth rate (covering in particular changes in wages), since the beginning of history, except during periods of war and economic depression (as in the 1930s). The unequal relationship between rentiers and workers should, according to him, grow rapidly in the twenty-first century. This structural inequality (denoted r> g) between the return on capital (including the “top 1%” in the income scale) and the return on labor is a potential source of social conflict and threat to modern capitalism. This gap is mainly explained by the rapid increase in savings of the wealthiest households. Thomas Piketty advocates the introduction of a more progressive tax and the establishment of a new global tax on capital. The publication of Thomas Piketty’s latest book has had a global impact. It was considered by some Anglo-Saxon economists as a turning point in economic thought. This thesis has sparked mixed reactions in all Western countries. The author was notably accused of revisiting the Marxist approach to the “class struggle between bourgeois and proletarians.” The work of Thomas Piketty has been the subject of much criticism of an ideological and methodological nature, summarized in the following book, reviewed by the Turgot Club.