Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
‘Wealth of Data, Poverty of Theory’
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Michel Husson in
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Thomas Piketty’s book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, provides a monumental database for the history of capitalism. But the author’s interpretation of these data is based on an inconsistent theoretical framework that constantly oscillates between two definitions of capital: either capital as accumulated drawing rights on the value created; or capital as a factor of production in the neoclassical tradition. Capital as a social relation is forgotten and the history of capitalism appears as an accounting mechanism.
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Boyer Roger Miller Roger ‘Capital in the Twenty-First Century: A Regulationist View’ Revue de la régulation 2014 available at: <http://regulation.revues.org/10618?lang=en>
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Chesnais François ‘Réflexions sur Le capital au xxie siècle de Thomas Piketty’ Les Possibles 2013 October 31 available at: <https://france.attac.org/nos-publications/les-possibles/numero-1-automne-2013/debats/article/reflexions-sur-le-capital-au-xxie-1312>
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Domar Evsey D. ‘Expansion and Employment’ The American Economic Review 1947 37 1 34 55
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Guerrien Bernard ‘L’étrange fascination de Thomas Piketty pour la théorie néoclassique de la répartition’ 2010 available at: <http://gesd.free.fr/piketbg.pdf>
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Harrod Roy F. ‘An Essay in Dynamic Theory’ Economic Journal 1939 49 193 14 33
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Husson Michel ‘Le partage de la valeur ajoutée en Europe’ 2010 available at: <http://hussonet.free.fr/psalirsw.pdf>
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Husson Michel ‘Quand la spéculation immobilière fait chuter le taux de profit’ 2011 available at: <http://hussonet.free.fr/castex11.pdf>
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Husson Michel ‘Un essai de mesure de la ponction actionnariale’ 2013 available at: <http://hussonet.free.fr/ponctiona.pdf>
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Milanovic Branko ‘The Return of “Patrimonial Capitalism”: Review of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century’ 2013 available at: <http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/52384/1/mpra_paper_52384.pdf>
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Petit Jean-Paul ‘A propos du Capital au xxie siècle’ Inprecor 2013 599 600 available at: <http://gesd.free.fr/jppetit.pdf>
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Piketty Thomas ‘Capital in the 21st century’, talk given in Cologne, 5 December, PowerPoint presentation 2013 available at: <http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Piketty2013Cologne.pdf>
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Piketty Thomas Goldhammer Arthur Capital in the Twenty-First Century 2014 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
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Piketty Thomas & Zucman Gabriel ‘Capital is Back: Wealth-Income Ratios in Rich Countries 1700–2010’ 2013 available at: <http://gesd.free.fr/piketzuc13.pdf>
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4
Piketty 2014, p. 221.
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5
Piketty 2014, p. 46.
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7
Piketty 2014, p. 47.
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10
Husson 2013.
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11
Husson 2011.
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12
See Husson 2010.
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13
Piketty 2013.
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14
See Piketty 2014, pp. 212–34 in particular.
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15
Piketty 2014, p. 221.
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17
Piketty 2014, p. 168.
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18
Harrod 1939.
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19
Domar 1947.
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21
Piketty 2014, p. 227.
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22
Piketty 2014, p. 100.
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23
Boyer 2014.
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24
Piketty 2014, p. 298.
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25
On this point see Petit 2013. By comparison, we would have expected that a Marxist like François Chesnais would have taken a less accommodating view in his reflections on Piketty’s book (Chesnais 2013).
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26
Boyer 2014.
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28
Milanovic 2013, p. 3.
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30
Milanovic 2013, p. 3.
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31
Piketty 2014, p. 232.
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32
Guerrien 2010.
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33
Piketty 2014, p. 234.
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34
Boyer 2014.
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Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty
‘Wealth of Data, Poverty of Theory’
In: Historical MaterialismSearch for other papers by Michel Husson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Thomas Piketty’s book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, provides a monumental database for the history of capitalism. But the author’s interpretation of these data is based on an inconsistent theoretical framework that constantly oscillates between two definitions of capital: either capital as accumulated drawing rights on the value created; or capital as a factor of production in the neoclassical tradition. Capital as a social relation is forgotten and the history of capitalism appears as an accounting mechanism.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 548 | 55 | 3 |
| Full Text Views | 982 | 6 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 1399 | 12 | 0 |