Capital in the Twenty - First Century by Thomas Piketty (Book Review Sample)

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Book Review
Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty is a great book, especially in matters concerning business. Its importance stems especially from the detailed statistical information it sheds on various economic parameters. It essentially captures the concept of income inequality in a way that very few other books have done so far, provides detailed explanations of the economic variables, and goes further to explain why these factors matter on the bigger picture. In addressing the topic of inequality, Piketty gives some points that explain the problematic nature of wealth distribution over the last several decades.
The book starts by offering a historical perspective of inequality. It asserts that since the mid 20th century, there has been a sharp increase in the income earned by the top earners in the workforce. This has been a chief factor in the subsequent rise in the level of inequality among the different wage groups. The book gives shocking statistics that more than half of the total increment in wages in the United States since the late 1970s went to only the top cream of the people, approximately 1%. When such statistics is related to the present prevailing economic environment, it is hard not to agree with the book.
The sharp growth in the levels of inequality, according to the book, have been as a result of not only the availability or lack of capital, but also the rapid increment in the salaries on the high side of the wage structure. It also places a claim on the fact that the massive growth in inequality isn’t a blanket observation for all the economically stable nations. In the United States, the book cites the salary increments as a bigger player than the capital factor. The author, however, focuses more on the capital factor as a bigger contributor towards inequality in most western countries, especially in Europe.
The book is especially on point with the manner in which it describes the contradiction or the paradox of capitalism. The claim of the book is its supposition of the fact that the levels of inequality are unlikely to abate anytime soon. The reasons for this is that the realizable capital returns will over the longer run outweigh the rate of economic growth. In other terms, the magnitude of wealth from the investments made is likely to exceed the rate at which these investors utilize it. The overall supposition of this is that people become more productive than before, and the past and present will always tend to threaten the economic sustenance of the future.
The book, however, brings about confusion since it fails to explain satisfactorily the income and...