Summary of Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty - Includes Analysis Paperback – Box set, June 8, 2016

Thomas Piketty takes a page from Karl Marx and posits that the solution to income inequality is impose a global tax on capital. The problem with that way of thinking is two-fold: 1) taxing capital is what causes income inequality because 2) when governments impose taxes on capital, investment in new ventures, (think investment in new companies founded by entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates) and capital improvements for existing companies, dry up. This leads to fewer jobs created, lay-offs, and high rates of unemployment. This happens because investors see no point in investing money that will only draw high taxation. So they withhold investments, which in turn, slows growth. This starts the dominoes falling and next the unemployment rate soars.I've never understood why Socialists and Communists just don't get that you can't heavily tax the means of production and still expect that the production will continue on unaffected. This is one reason why the economy has stagnated over the last 8 years. Between the high corporate taxes and the unending slew of regulations that financially penalize corporations and especially small businesses, production can't possibly grow and thrive.It's just as if capital were water, and you put a high tax on not only the water, but the pipes and reservoirs that hold and transport the water. It gets to the point where only the rich and subsidized poor can afford the water. The middle class, which is heavily dependent on corporate jobs and small businesses, starts to disappear as they sink below the poverty level and join the ranks of the poor.Thomas Piketty thinks this is a good idea. I think it's a good idea to avoid his book. If you've read Das Kapital by Karl Marx in college, you won't find anything new in Piketty's book. I received this summary for free in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend it.

Capital in the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Riketty, a French economist, is a study of inequity, both historically and currently. Although it focuses on France and Europe, the illustration of how the concentration of wealth, and the subsequent income gaps caused by the difference in rate of return on capital and economic growth, have changed over time. The author also shows how economic predictions and theories are more political than scientific, his own included.Summary of Capital in the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Riketty by Instaread provides an analysis of the book, with discussion of the main themes and the author’s style and credentials. This pocket summary, which can be read in 15 minutes, is an efficient way to review new books before buying them.I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is an overview of the actual book “Capital in the 21st Century.“ Kind of like an abbreviated ‘Cliff's Notes’ for the FULL book. It provides a potential reader enough information regarding the book’s content to determine if we want to invest the extra money and time to actually buy and read the entire book. The author, Thomas Piketty, is a well-know if not controversial, modern economist. This book questions many of the currently accepted axioms of wealth distribution and their actual impact on contemporary capitalist societies ... as they are presently applied in a our modern Socialist Democracies, both here in the US and also Europe. At .99 cents, this summary is a good value, which is one of the reasons I have personally found “Instaread” to be a useful service.

Earlier this year I read “Capital in the Twentieth Century”. Most of it went right over my head. This summary book was good in that it concisely explains Piketty’s theories.

For the kindle price of a couple of bucks, this is a satisfying, focused distillation of the main pints of the French economist—his politics, his methodology, and even his prose style.

To short, it doesn't make the point, one has to read the whole book, if not a recommend to ask for a sample and if it caches you, to buy it!

I was given this instaread and felt It was a great book on the reason for lessening of middle class. The rich find loop holes in not paying taxes and this needs to stop. Good overview of the French and their system.

Great content , too Short.

Is it just me or are most economic text structured in the same way. The first of each chapter begins with a long series of definitions of terms, some abstract, some concrete. The last third of each chapter involves various leaps of faith involving the data (does that curve have two or three deflection points) and the future (will it be the same or different?). I will try to read Piketty again in the original to see if this book helps it make more sense.

An apt introduction & backgrounder