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Why is the West becoming so unequal and what can we do about it?

Why is the West becoming so unequal and what can we do about it?

In the latest episode of Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer speaks to economist Thomas Piketty. 10/11/2020

Levels of inequality, particularly in the West, have been growing steadily over the last 50 years, and they seem likely to accelerate in the wake of Covid–19. Why is this? Why was the 20th century so good as equalising wealth and income, why is the 21st century different, and what should we do about it?

Nick Spencer talks to the economist, Thomas Piketty – whose books Capital in the 21st century and Capital and Ideology have changed the debate on the subject – about inequality, solidarity, and the dangers of treating property as if it were sacred. 

 

Learn more about the people and ideas behind the episode

 “Use worldly wealth to gain friends”: Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology

Paris School of Economics – Thomas Piketty

Capital in the Twenty–First Century

Capital and Ideology


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Nick Spencer

Nick Spencer

Nick is Senior Fellow at Theos. He is the author of a number of books and reports, including Magisteria: the entangled histories of science and religion (Oneworld, 2023), The Political Samaritan: how power hijacked a parable (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Evolution of the West (SPCK, 2016) and Atheists: The Origin of the Species (Bloomsbury, 2014). He is host of the podcast Reading Our Times.

Watch, listen to or read more from Nick Spencer

Posted 10 November 2020

Economy, Inequality, Reading Our Times

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