Nature, Culture, and Inequality

An insightful exploration of the nature of inequality.

In his new work, Nature, Culture, and Inequality, Thomas Piketty explores how social inequality manifests itself very differently depending on the society and epoch in which it arises. History and culture play a central role, with inequality being strongly linked to various socio-economic, political, civilisational, and religious developments. It is culture in the broadest sense that makes it possible to explain the diversity, extent, and structure of the social inequality that we observe every day.

Piketty briefly and concisely presents a lively synthesis of his work, taking up such diverse topics as education, inheritance, taxes, and the climate crisis, and provides exciting food for thought for a highly topical debate: Does natural inequality exist?

Through his seminal works, Piketty has become a beacon for those seeking to comprehend and combat economic inequity. He's not just an economist, he's also a visionary whose ideas inspire a new generation to debate and shape a (much) more equitable future.
- Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind and Utopia For Realists

This brilliant little book distils years of world-class research on inequality into a punchy argument with wonderful insights on every page. For anyone interested in the problem of inequality and how to solve it, this is the perfect place to start.
- Jason Hickel, author of The Divide and Less Is More

In a hundred engaging and easy-to-read pages, Thomas Piketty paints a vivid portrait of economic inequality's many faces - as it relates to income, wealth, gender, education, taxation, inheritance, debt, and climate change. Throughout, Piketty documents the collective choices that have charted inequality's past path in order to challenge democratic politics to build a more equal future. If you have one hour to devote to thinking about economic inequality today, spend it with this book.
- Daniel Markovits, author of The Meritocracy Trap