Thomas Piketty on the Politics of Equality

Conversations with Tyler

Society & Culture, Education

4.8 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2022

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When it comes to the enormous reduction of income inequality during the 20th century, Thomas Piketty sees politics everywhere. In his new book, A Brief History of Equality, he argues the rising equality during the 19th and 20th centuries has its roots not in deterministic economic forces but in the movements to end aristocratic and colonial societies starting at the end of the 18th century. Drawing this line forward, Piketty also contends we must rectify past injustices before attempting to create new institutions.

He joined Tyler to discuss just how egalitarian France actually is, the beginning of the end of aristocratic society, where he places himself within French intellectual history, why he’s skeptical of data from before the late 18th century, how public education drives economic development, why Georgism isn’t sufficient to address wealth inequality, the relationship between wealth and cultural capital, his proposal for a minimum inheritance, why he turned down the Legion of Honor, why France should give reparations to Haiti despite the logistical difficulties of doing so, his vision for European federalism, why more immigration won’t be a panacea for inequality, his thoughts on Michel Houellebecq’s Submission, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded March 8th, 2022

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we get started with the conversation, just heads up that Pikitis audio quality is
0:08.6	lower than usual.
0:10.0	So if you're having trouble following the conversation, as always, we have a full transcript
0:15.1	available at ConversationsWithTiler.com.
0:17.8	Additionally, for this one, we have a video, and that may be easier for some of you to follow,
0:22.2	so that can be found by searching for Conversations With Tyler on YouTube.
0:26.2	Or just check the show notes for links.
0:33.2	ConversationsWith Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University,
0:38.2	bridging the gap between academic ideas and real world problems.
0:42.4	Learn more at mercatis.org.
0:45.1	And for more conversations, including videos, transcripts, and upcoming dates, visit
0:50.3	ConversationsWithTiler.com.
0:56.0	Hello everyone, and welcome back to ConversationsWithTiler.
0:59.6	Today I'm here with Tomah Pikitis, and he has a new book out, A Brief History of Equality,
1:05.4	which in my opinion is the very best introduction to his overall views.
1:09.7	Tomah, welcome.
1:10.7	Thank you for your invitation.
1:14.0	Let me start with some questions about France.
1:16.2	Now, as you've pointed out yourself, France adopted a progressive income tax, relatively
1:21.3	laid in its history.
1:22.6	Is it how egalitarian as a country do you think France actually is?
1:26.6	Well, as I stress in my new book, A Brief History of Equality, there's been a long-run
	...

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