Economics is always an interesting subject for me, and recently I have been considering the long-term effects of living in a capitalist society. I thought that while I found this interesting, I was likely among the few that would enjoy pondering on these topics.
Apparently I was wrong.
I should have known that, based on the number of excellent threads that pop-up on BBI over the years. I have enjoyed the insights of so many who are much more knowledgeable than I, and have seen that I'm not alone whenever I express appreciation to those who contribute on those threads. I still never thought it would become so popular as to rise to the top of the best-seller list.
Enter Thomas Piketty's latest book. After reading this article I thought I'd pick people's brains here to see who has read it and what they thought of it to see if it should be on my own reading list.
What do you think, BBI?
From the Guardian - (
New Window )
It's a good look at historical developments that Piketty has been working on for 20+ years, and tends to follow a lot of conclusions that others have drawn separately.
There are quite legitimate criticisms (as much as I think he's become a hack, Mankiw has some good ones), but a lot of the criticisms you will read are shallow and have limited substance.
The policy section is much more Euro-centric, but it accords with historical, political, and societal developments over there (he translates it to the U.S. because without uniform policies, there is the risk of causing people to flee from one country to another in the search of higher returns).
I rate it as one of the better books this year, but I've read a ton of Piketty already.
I think what may be most valuable is the data sets that he has helped establish and make more accessible, including the world top incomes database. And, also, it a critique of inequality from a renown economist, whose field is notorious for defending inequality.