Chronicles on our troubled times
Thomas Piketty
Penguin books
This is a series of essays written as Europe was trying to come to terms with a financial crisis. This crisis evolved after the populace saw a 60% increase in wealth being absorbed by 1% of the people. We are still coming to terms with that crash as poverty is blamed on those poorer as many look to the far right for answers.
Picketty argues that as the Euro zine has one currency more needs to be done to assist those countries in debt, as would be done if they had the ability for their own banks to get involved. Regulation ignorance allowed the 1% to keep increasing the wealth whilst the rest had some benefit. This quickly stopped when the plug was pulled.
This series span 2008 – 2015 at a time when Europe was going through great change, maybe more so than other post war times. The resurgence of right wing politics was beginning to take place and has grown vastly since. We are yet to really listen to Pickettys words “austerity is what led to the rise of national selfishness and tensions around national identity. Social development with equity is how hatred will be defeated. “. It’s not too late, is it?
niallhope
