Piketty and the Zeitgeist
It is difficult to believe that Thomas Piketty's book Capital in the Twenty-First Century would have had the impact that it has had ten or even five years ago, even though identical arguments and evidence could have been marshaled then. But it is now acceptable to talk about inequality in America as the central issue facing the country.
PRINCETON – I get the same question these days wherever I go and from whomever I meet: What do you think of Thomas Piketty? It’s really two questions in one: What do you think of Piketty the book, and what do you think of Piketty the phenomenon?