Nature, Culture, And Inequality

A Guardian book to look out for in 2024

An insightful exploration of the nature of inequality by the internationally bestselling author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century.

In his newest work, Thomas Piketty explores how social inequality manifests itself very differently depending on the society and epoch in which it arises. History and culture play a central role, inequality being strongly linked to various socio-economic, political, civilisational, and religious developments. So it is culture in the broadest sense that makes it possible to explain the diversity, extent, and structure of the social inequality that we observe every day.

Piketty briefly and concisely presents a lively synthesis of his work, taking up such diverse topics as education, inheritance, taxes, and the climate crisis, and provides exciting food for thought for a highly topical debate: Does natural inequality exist?

Review:

'Through his seminal works, Piketty has become a beacon for those seeking to comprehend and combat economic inequity. He's not just an economist, he's also a visionary whose ideas inspire a new generation to debate and shape a (much) more equitable future.'

-- Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind and Utopia For Realists
'This brilliant little book distills years of world-class research on inequality into a punchy argument with wonderful insights on every page. For anyone interested in the problem of inequality and how to solve it, this is the perfect place to start.'

-- Jason Hickel, author of The Divide and Less Is More
'In a hundred engaging and easy-to-read pages, Thomas Piketty paints a vivid portrait of economic inequality's many faces - as it relates to income, wealth, gender, education, taxation, inheritance, debt, and climate change. Throughout, Piketty documents the collective choices that have charted inequality's past path in order to challenge democratic politics to build a more equal future. If you have one hour to devote to thinking about economic inequality today, spend it with this book.'

-- Daniel Markovits, author of The Meritocracy Trap
'Nature, Culture, and Inequality is a clear, incisive examination of one of the world's major economic problems - extreme income and wealth inequality. In this short, readable volume, Thomas Piketty explains how extreme inequality hurts millions of people worldwide, and why some nations have far worse inequality than others. Piketty also makes the case that the high levels of inequality in countries like the United States are not part of the natural order and can - and should - be greatly reduced to create fairer economies for all.'

-- Steven Greenhouse, author of Beaten Down, Worked Up: the past, present, and future of American labour
'Thomas Piketty's Nature, Culture, and Inequality is a little book that addresses an issue of great significance.'

-- Christopher Pollard * The Conversation *
Praise for A Brief History of Equality:

'A profound and optimistic call to action and reflection. For Piketty, the arc of history is long, but it does bend toward equality. There is nothing automatic about it, however: as citizens, we must be ready to fight for it, and constantly (re)invent the myriad of institutions that will bring it about. This book is here to help.'

-- Esther Duflo, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
Praise for A Brief History of Equality:

'A sustained argument for why we should be optimistic about human progress ... [Piketty] has laid out a plan that is smart, thoughtful, and motivated by admirable political convictions.'

-- Gary Gerstle * The Washington Post *
Praise for A Brief History of Equality:

'[Piketty] argues that we're on a trajectory of greater, not less, equality and lays out his prescriptions for remedying our current corrosive wealth disparities.'

-- David Marchese * The New York Times Magazine *
Praise for Capital and Ideology:

'The book is packed with fascinating detail and vast quantities of skilfully assembled data; it is written (and translated, by Arthur Goldhammer) in an accessible, conversational tone. But Piketty's vital contribution is somewhat obscured by the book's title. He is not in the business of uncovering the ideological dynamics that make the interests of the powerful appear to coincide with everyone's general interest - what Boutmy called "political hegemony" - or in explaining the way they have historically operated. Instead, he gives us a systematic examination of inequality across time and place, and of the ideas the powerful have used to justify it.'

-- Geoff Mann * London Review of Books *
Praise for Capital and Ideology:

'Spenglerian in scope, Piketty's critique reaches far back in history and across the globe ... It's an admirable corrective to the usual Eurocentrism of Western economists ... Piketty has modified his thinking since his previous opus. Rather than imply that rising inequality is a problem inherent in capitalism, he now suggests that the levels of inequality we get are the ones we countenance - that they're entirely a matter of political and ideological choices.'

-- Idrees Kahloon * The New Yorker *

Author Biography: Thomas Piketty is Professor at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and the Paris School of Economics, and co-director of the World Inequality Lab. Best known for his bestselling book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, he is also the author of Capital and Ideology and A Brief History of Equality, among other works. Willard Wood is the winner of the 2002 Lewis Galantiere Award for Literary Translation and a 2000 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Translation. Willard has translated more than thirty books from the French. His recent books include Constellation by Adrien Bosc and The Goddess of Small Victories by Yannick Grannec. He lives in Connecticut.