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Comment by Eleutheria | Hacker News Reader

So capitalism has problems, he failed to determine the cause (the state) and failed to propose efficient solutions (more taxes, austerity for the people, more interventionism) and you praise it as true science? That book is a marxist pamphlet in a thousand pages.

For the love of god, never read Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt or you would consider him the bastard son of Einstein when he was fifteen.

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Marxist Pamphlet? What non-sense. It's a book written by an avowed defender of capitalism, worried about its excesses in the age of slowing growth. Piketty is a social-democrat from the mainstream of European politics, not a marxist in any way or shape. Bill Gates gave the book a mixed review with many positive points, and he's not particularly known for being a marxist sympathizer.

And here's me thinking Piketty was all about blaming capitalism for wealth inequality. Care to correct me, and explain why you think he's an "avowed defender of capitalism"?

Because he's not actually proposing to move to an alternative system.

He is proposing increased state control and taxation.

For the sake of Jesus, read this posts and use your brain:

"There is No Steady State Economy (except at a very basic level)" http://ourfiniteworld.com/2011/02/21/there-is-no-steady-stat...

Limits to Growth–At our doorstep, but not recognized http://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-02-12/limits-to-growt...

Wealth And Energy Consumption Are Inseparable http://www.declineoftheempire.com/2012/01/wealth-and-energy-...

Galactic-Scale Energy http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/07/galactic-scale-e...

I have not read "Economics in One Lesson" but if I remember right, it is Austrian and takes ideas from good ol' Ludwing van. Today I must say, Mises views were often very short sighted, he had little understanding of money and in the end also a limited understanding what capitalism is (and why it will end).

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