It is not "just" an analytical description of capitalism and inequality it is a proposition, a prescription to transcend them. In the author's logic, to understand inequality, we must first of all understand the ideologies, systems of ideas that, over time, have sought to justify it.īut the title carries a much greater ambition. Inequalities are a product of a human, political construction. 'Capital and Ideology' brings a simple argument: inequalities – economic (income or wealth), political (of power in collective decision-making processes, public or private), or social (of access to public goods and services such as education and health) – are not a natural product of the economy or technology. I would like to begin by warning the reader: in this brief review, I will give high praise to the work, build two critiques and, from them, dare to present a public invitation to the author. Even the most disinterested in the topic, the most inflexible of conservatives, or the most orthodox of liberals, will not fail to appreciate the historical, political and sociological (and yes, also economic) reflections contained in this admirable book, which in the Brazilian edition boasts 1,056 pages. There should only be one reason why you should not read 'Capital and Ideology', a new work by Thomas Piketty - the fear of thinking and speculating about what a less unequal, more just society could look like.
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