So what is Capital in the Twenty-First Century? Some notes on Piketty’s book

Authors

  • János Kornai Harvard University and Corvinus University of Budapest

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15678/ZP.2016.36.2.01

Keywords:

capital, inequality, distribution of wealth, growth, dynamics, competition, motivation to act, impact of tech - nological progress on all aspects of life

Abstract

According to János Kornai, despite the undeniable original contribution of Capital in the Twenty-First Century, its author offers a partial and distorted analysis of the functioning of the capitalist system, which leads him to mistaken conclusions and to a very limited repertoire of recommendations for politicians. The Hungarian economist criticizes Thomas Piketty particularly for the omission of such aspects as the dynamics of capitalism, competition as a stimulus to act, technical progress and its impact on all aspects of modern human life. He illustrates his views with numerous examples taken from the work of other economists.

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Author Biography

  • János Kornai, Harvard University and Corvinus University of Budapest

    Fővámtér 8
    1093 Budapest, Hungary

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Published

2016-06-08

How to Cite

Kornai, J. (2016). So what is Capital in the Twenty-First Century? Some notes on Piketty’s book. Journal of Public Governance, 36(2), 7-33. https://doi.org/10.15678/ZP.2016.36.2.01