Piketty, Marx and the roots of inequality, by Benjamin Selwyn
▻http://mondediplo.com/blogs/piketty-marx-and-the-roots-of-inequality
Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century has ignited a huge debate over the relationship between capitalism and inequality. His core thesis, which has put the fox amongst the neoliberal chickens, shows that the rate of return to capital (through interest and rent) exceeds the growth of real wages, and that this in turn generates rising inequality. It is not hard work, as continually emphasised by neoliberals, but the possession of wealth that is the basis of enrichment. Capitalism is shown to be profoundly antithetical to a meritocratic society.