Piketty's bestselling economics book is seismic, a vital infusion of data into the ideological debate over economics -- but it's also 700 pages long.
That's not because the argument is difficult to lay out -- it's because the evidence to support it is so prodigious, and because Piketty predicted (correctly) that showing that capitalism produces dynastic, multi-generational fortunes, rather than a dynamic, meritocratic rags-to-riches system that rewards prosperity-creating innovation would attract vicious assaults from the mainstream of economic thought.
Much of Capital 21C is aimed at heading off those critics at the pass, retreading the same arguments over and over, from different examples, making them unassailable as possible.
This is important -- because Piketty has something important to say, and it will only resonate if it can't be easily dismissed -- but it also scares off people who would benefit from reading Piketty's work but don't want to commit to months of slogging through a brick-sized book.
In other words, Capital 21C needed a Ted Talk -- and now it has one.
(via 3 Quarks Daily)
report this ad
My dear friend Bruce Tomb — accomplished architect and creator of Maria del Camino, a “flying” art-car made from a 59 El Camino and a tank — is renting out office space in his building in the middle of San Francisco’s Mission District.
READ THE REST
An all-star team of comics and science fiction people — impressario Glenn Hauman, writer David “Tribbles” Gerrold, and illustrator Ty Templeton — had their kickstarter for a Seuss/Trek parody “Oh, The Places You’ll Boldly Go” unceremoniously shut down when the Seuss estate’s notorious attack-lawyers threatened legal action, without any regard for the clear fair use […]
READ THE REST
“Just as skyscrapers allowed cities to use limited land more efficiently, urban air transportation will use three-dimensional airspace to alleviate transportation congestion on the ground.” Ride-sharing service Uber released a 97-page white paper today that describes a network of “on-demand, fully electric aircraft that take off and land vertically.” The Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft […]
READ THE REST
More and more people are using dashcams to record the road as they drive, and insurance companies are beginning to take the footage more seriously, too. At just $24.99, the Dash-Cam Hi-Res Car Video Camera is one of the cheapest options I’ve seen, and turns out it does everything I want it to do.It attaches directly […]
READ THE REST
With Xamarin, coders can develop native apps for both iOS and Android without learning two different programming languages. Obviously, hiring one programmer rather than two is beneficial for companies and makes Xamarin experts highly in demand.You can easily learn Xamarin online with this Xamarin Cross-Platform Development Bundle. It will teach you to use Xamarin and code […]
READ THE REST
TV antennas are making a comeback, and the Ghost Indoor HDTV antenna is a great example of why. Unlike the old bunny ear-style antennas, this compact antenna is barely noticeable and picks up channels easily. Plus with the addition of streaming services like Netflix, we find ourselves with plenty to watch without a pricey monthly cable bill. The Ghost […]
READ THE REST
report this ad