Nature, Culture, and Inequality

A Guardian book to look out for in 2024An insightful exploration of the nature of inequality by the internationally bestselling author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century. In his newest work, 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, inequality being strongly linked to various socio-economic, political, civilisational, and religious developments.

So 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?