Capital and Ideology

　　貧富差距過大，然後呢？
　　改變人們對未來的既有想像，便有機會改變不平等的現況！

　　這部巨著，可能將帶來超越《二十一世紀資本論》的政治影響力。──《金融時報》

　　皮凱提的《二十一世紀資本論》(Capital in the Twenty-First Century)，著眼歐洲與北美等西方社會的歷史經驗，挑戰了過去對「貧富不均漸趨惡化」這一現象的主流見解，甫出版即在全球引發熱烈討論。

　　在本書中，他以更宏觀的角度，深入探究印度、中國、南非等國的經濟史，分析歷史上六個重要的意識形態類型，意圖在《二十一世紀資本論》的基礎上，對貧富差距惡化的問題，提出可行的解法。

　　長久以來，許多人認為，貧富差距惡化的現況，是全球化或科技發展下不可避免的結果，要真正改善這個問題，需要等待歷史的發展讓一切條件具備、推動新一波變革發生。然而皮凱提認為，所謂的貧富不均，是意識形態與政治選擇下的產物，而非經濟與科技發展下的必然，而歷史業已證明，當人們轉而選擇不同的意識形態，將可能迅速為社會帶來劇烈變革。

　　一旦我們理解這件事，便有機會構築一個在經濟和政治上更平衡的路線。皮凱提提出新的「參與型」社會主義，在改革稅制的基礎上，對財富進行分配，讓中低階層的人民，尤其是年輕人，不再受限於貧乏的資源，能擁有一定的生活品質，並且有機會自由選擇職業、合理薪資，這將使得更多人能夠主動參與到經濟體系中，以更有效率且更公平的方式，促進整體經濟發展。

　　本書不僅有助於我們了解身處的世界與面臨的挑戰，並將提供嶄新的視角，與改變的可能。(文/博客來編譯)

　　The epic successor to one of the most important books of the century: at once a retelling of global history, a scathing critique of contemporary politics, and a bold proposal for a new and fairer economic system.

　　Thomas Piketty’s bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system.

　　Our economy, Piketty observes, is not a natural fact. Markets, profits, and capital are all historical constructs that depend on choices. Piketty explores the material and ideological interactions of conflicting social groups that have given us slavery, serfdom, colonialism, communism, and hypercapitalism, shaping the lives of billions. He concludes that the great driver of human progress over the centuries has been the struggle for equality and education and not, as often argued, the assertion of property rights or the pursuit of stability. The new era of extreme inequality that has derailed that progress since the 1980s, he shows, is partly a reaction against communism, but it is also the fruit of ignorance, intellectual specialization, and our drift toward the dead-end politics of identity.

　　Once we understand this, we can begin to envision a more balanced approach to economics and politics. Piketty argues for a new “participatory” socialism, a system founded on an ideology of equality, social property, education, and the sharing of knowledge and power. Capital and Ideology is destined to be one of the indispensable books of our time, a work that will not only help us understand the world, but that will change it.