Capital in the Twenty-First Century

By: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from 20 countries, ranging as far back as the 18th century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.

Piketty shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality - the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth - today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, Piketty says, and may do so again.

A work of extraordinary ambition, originality, and rigor, Capital in the Twenty-First Century reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2014 the President and Fellows of Harvard College (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"L.J. Ganser's voice and accents are superb, and emphasis is well placed." ( AudioFile)

BEST book ever!!

Steeply progressive tax in capital : this is what Piketty proposes. I completely agree on his point an I hope we will be able to achieve it

Informativ

It was a great book but I thought maybe not made for audible. There are a lot of graphs to refer to and although you an download them, it's often inconvenient to look at them while you're doing something else. I should've read this book not listened to it.

Glad I only listened and not read

Ok but seeming a high weeds book for dismal science types.
For me he did reinforce a lot of auteur notions I held regarding macro economics.

fantastic!

A very thorough and comprehensive examination of the underlying mechanisms driving wealth inequality. This analysis is strongly supported by quantitative data, but is also clearly explained and easily understood.

Good, but not enjoyed

The book was well done, just not what I anticipated. The enjoyment factor was reduced (at least for audio) by the inclusion of mathematical principles.

Great book made more accesible

Some have questioned if an audiobook is a reasonable format for an academic work such as this. I think it worked remarkably well and made it easier to digest the tome. Sure, the supplemental PDF has 115 pages of graphs and tables, but I never felt I had to stop everything to investigate them right at the moment. They were added illustrations, ably described by Pickety's engaging prose. He did a great job of making a lot of technical information engaging to a lay reader, and the narration enhanced the sense of being part of a long conversation with a most interesting and informative man.

Others have reviewed the actual content better than I could hope to. I will only add that I found Pickety's relative lack of ideology refreshing. I am grateful for an analysis that goes beyond the tired old arguments that treat riches and inequality as evils that need no further discussion. Certainly the author shares a good bit of this moral view, but for the most part he makes his case on more dispassionate and rational grounds. Got me listening. An important work that deserves to be read, and taken seriously, by the general public.

This a must listen in todays political environment

This is a must read in todays poltical environment in the United States. It will really open your eyes to what the political parties are stearing us ito the future.

Very informative indeed !

This books makes a very good argument for the need of progressive taxes on Capital amongst many other things. A new term I was introduced to was "Super Managers". Clearly the United States has become a nation of "Super Managers" with the CEO to worker pay ratio now standing at 276. However as a silver lining this is the first time in History where the working class (albeit a very small minority like executives) can match the earning potential and lifestyle standards previously afforded by only old/inherited fortunes.

Rather in paper

This is a book one should, in my view, rather read in hard copy. Audio only difficult to follow, for me.

InEQ b/c TaxIncome not!?Wealth

Big Book is small inside ears as audiobook because he speaks in clear concise language backed up by figures
InEQ = most Wealth today is Untaxed Capital not income. To reverse inequality requires Prog Capital Tax. Prog Income Tax achieves little as wealthy are much fewer and have limited [working] income eg Warren Buffet 180k income and 14k taxes. Buffet Billions in capital/investments are not taxed. All capital today is swiss global investment not past "means of production" eg agricultural land now worthless. Got Capital? Got Investments? Or just labor/Income?