Time for Socialism

A chronicle of recent events that have shaken the world, from the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century  “What makes this manifesto noteworthy is that it comes from . . . an economist who gained his reputation as a researcher with vaguely left-of-center sensibilities but was far from a radical. Yet the times are such . . . that even honest moderates are driven to radical remedies.”—Robert Kuttner, New York Times   As a correspondent for the French newspaper Le Monde, world-renowned economist Thomas Piketty has documented the rise and fall of Trump, the drama of Brexit, Emmanuel Macron’s ascendance to the French presidency, the unfolding of a global pandemic, and much else besides, always from the perspective of his fight for a more equitable world. This collection brings together those articles and is prefaced by an extended introductory essay, in which Piketty argues that the time has come to support an inclusive and expansive conception of socialism as a counterweight against the hypercapitalism that defines our current economic ideology. These essays offer a first draft of history from one of the world’s leading economists and public figures, detailing the struggle against inequalities and tax evasion, in favor of a federalist Europe and a globalization more respectful of work and the environment.

“What makes this manifesto noteworthy is that it comes from . . . an economist who gained his reputation as a researcher with vaguely left-of-center sensibilities but was far from a radical. Yet the times are such . . . that even honest moderates are driven to radical remedies.”—Robert Kuttner, New York Times“The ideas propounded are influential and represent a stream of thought which has considerable resonance both in Europe and the UK.”—Bridget Rosewell, Reading Room for the Society of Professional Economists“Lively, thought-provoking, grounded in facts, and resolutely optimistic—these essays grapple with the big questions of our time, from the rise of Trumpism and Brexit, to gender inequality and wealth taxation.”—Gabriel Zucman, University of California, Berkeley“Thomas Piketty’s personal journey from liberalism to socialism, at a time when socialism was in retreat, is a mark of the man’s ethos but also evidence of the soul-crushing inhumanity of our post-2008 hypercapitalism. Reading this volume of collected essays offers important glimpses to the parallel evolution of our political economy and of one of its most renowned scholars.”—Yanis Varoufakis, author of Another Now and leader of MeRA25 in Greece’s Parliament

Thomas Piketty is director of studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) and professor at the Paris School of Economics. He is the author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century and Capital and Ideology.