Artha Vijnana

Piketty, Thomas, A Brief History of Equality, Translated by Steven Rendall, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2022, pp. 320, Price ₹699/-

One may ask, why did Thomas Piketty write another book on equality or inequality? So much has been written on it by the greatest Philosophers, Political Scientists and Economists. Piketty believes the battle for equality is not over (pg. 203), and we are only in the process of radical equalization. The history of equality is important because knowledge of this past is indispensable for improving our understanding of the origins and injustices of the present social and economic system. Still, it (the knowledge) does not suffice to formulate solutions and remedies (pg. 93). Piketty believes the march toward equality is full of the revolutionary moment when Political institutions are redefined in order to make it possible to transfer social and economic structures (pg. 111).
When he elucidates inequality between the North and South, he finds a central role of slavery and colonialism in the development and prosperity of the Western World (pg. 48). The first European commercial companies, such as the British East India Company or the Dutch East Indies Company, were like genuine enterprises of transnational militarized robbery, with private armies subjugating whole populations under their ruthless control (pg. 60). According to available estimates, China’s and India’s share in worldwide manufacturing, which was still 53 per cent in 1800, was no more than five per cent in 1900 (pg. 59). The Anti-India protectionist policies helped British markets to flourish. Concerning deforestation; he cites Pomeranz who stresses the fact that by the end of the 18th century, Europe had spent nearly all its available resources (pg. 50). It means that after that, they looted the forests of the Colonies for their need. A superior military capability allowed them to exploit the Planet’s natural resources. The case of Haiti is emblematic, not only because it was the first abolition of slavery in the modern age after a victorious slave revolt and the first independence from European power won by a Black population, but also because this episode ended with an enormous public debt that undermined Haiti’s development over the following two centuries. Although in 1825, France finally agreed to accept the county’s independence and to put an end to its threats to send troops to invade the island, that was only because Charles 10th had obtained from the Haitian government a commitment to repay France a debt of 150 million gold francs to indemnify the slaveholders for the loss of their property (pg. 72). These are small examples of western exploitation. Colonial history is full of exploitation. In the course of establishing a Reparatory Justice and Universalistic Justice, Piketty proposed reimbursement of debt paid by Haiti. A simple, transparent solution might set the amount at 300 per cent of the Haitian national income in 2020, or about 30 billion euros (pg. 74). Piketty has

A Brief History of Equality 103 brilliantly analyzed the nuances of every exploitative relationship, whether within society or among societies. The Post-Colonial world is relatively egalitarian. The heart of the new (global) rule is the free circulation of capital without compensation in the form of regulation or common taxation (pg. 170). The Idea of using international treaties to depoliticize the economy to protect and prevent redistribution was, moreover, one of the Hayekian (pg. 172) proposals. These Ordoliberal rules and norms have established a quasi-sacred right to extract profit for a few global actors. As Piketty writes, they (influential actors and hegemons) generally utilize public infrastructures and social institutions (such as the educational and healthcare systems) to create benefits without following a fair, coherent tax system. Global North has established many institutional mechanisms to deepen the international division of labor. U.S. and Europe try to develop a set of regulations for fair international trade, but these rules do not seem reasonable from a developing country’s position.
Therefore, some tools are inevitable to face the emerging challenges which Piketty suggested. The system of “participatory socialism” he described has only one objective: to illustrate the great diversity of possible economic systems (pg. 117). This (participatory socialism) will solve the problem of power-sharing in enterprises and transform the economic system toward a better democratic financial system. It enhances efficiency and productivity due to the principle of ‘co-management and Burden sharing (Lastenausgleich)’. Co-management also contributes to the de-concentration of power. Progress and development emanate from egalitarian roots and electoral democracy (pg. 150); otherwise, it generates inequalities. Property is always a relationship of power (pg. 36, pg. 40) and inequality is, first, a social, historical and political construction (pg. 9). He is fascinated by the innovative definition of property which the German constitution has adopted- …Right to Property is legitimate only insofar as it shall serve thepublic good (pg. 115). However, he also imagined a creative role of small private property supervised and limited in scope. This project by Thomas Piketty is radically extraordinary. The reason for claiming this is not the abundance of more profound discussion of equality but the spirit and intention to hope for human emancipation.

However, a critical scrutiny of ‘A Brief History of Equality’ finds that it firmly hides the more profound implication of the limited sense of capitalism. This Idea paves the way for a nexus between the political protagonist and business houses in the form of State/Crony Capitalism. Unfortunately, he does not pay much attention to this intricate complaint. Primarily and convincingly, facts and figures are remarkably arranged in the book, for which appreciation is inevitable. In the alternative front (social inequality) the problem is not with his understanding of disparity but with the ‘easy to follow’ nature of his solution. No doubt, the reparation examples subscribed by Piketty will be a considerable part of the inequality discourse. Nevertheless, the brute challenge before the scholarship is to rescue the Idea of equality from the liberal trap, and the schema of progressive 104 Anoop Kumar Suraj taxation (Piketty believes this mechanism can solely solve the problem of unequal distribution) seems distant from the prescribed goal.

School of Humanities and Social Sciences, I.I.T. Indore Anoop Kumar Suraj Indore 453552.

R.B.R.R. Kale Memorial Lectures at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

• 1937 Modern Tendencies in Economic Thought and Policy by V.G. Kale 1938 The Social Process by G.S. Ghurye
• 1939 Federation Versus Freedom by B.R. Ambedkar
• 1940 The Constituent Assembly by K.T. Shah
• 1941 The Problem of the Aborigines in India by A.V. Thakkar
• 1942 A Plea for Planning in Cooperation by V.L. Mehta 1943 The Formation of Federations by S.G. Vaze
• 1944 Economic Policy by John Mathai
• 1945 A Statistical Approach to Vital Economic Problems by S.R. Deshpande
• 1946 India’s Sterling Balances by J.V. Joshi
• 1948 Central Banking in India: A Retrospect by C.D. Deshmukh
• 1949 Public Administration in Democracy by D.G. Karve 1950 Policy of Protection in India by R.L. Dey
  1951 Competitive and Cooperative Trends in Federalism by M. Venkatrangaiya 1952 The Role of the Administrator: Past, Present and Future by A.D. Gorwala
• 1953 Indian Nationalism by Laxmanshastri Joshi
  1954 Public Administration and Economic Development by W.R. Natu
• 1955 Some Thoughts on Planning in India by P.C. Mahalanobis
  1956 Reflections on Economic Growth and Progress by S.K. Muranjan 1957 Financing the Second Five-Year Plan by B.K. Madan
• 1958 Some Reflections on the Rate of Saving in Developing Economy by V.K.R.V. Rao 1959 Some Approaches to Study of Social Change by K.P. Chattopadhyay
• 1960 The Role of Reserve Bank of India in the Development of Credit Institutions by B. Venkatappiah
  1961 Economic Integration (Regional, National and International) by B.N. Ganguli 1962 Dilemma in Modern Foreign Policy by A. Appadorai
• 1963 The Defence of India by H.M. Patel
• 1964 Agriculture in a Developing Economy: The Indian Experience (The Impact of Economic Development on the Agricultural Sector) by M.L. Dantwala
• 1965 Decades of Transition – Opportunities and Tasks by Pitambar Pant
• 1966 District Development Planning by D.R. Gadgil
  1967 Universities and the Training of Industrial Business Management by S.L. Kirloskar 1968 The Republican Constitution in the Struggle for Socialism by M.S. Namboodripad 1969 Strategy of Economic Development by J.J. Anjaria
  1971 Political Economy of Development by Rajani Kothari
• 1972 Education as Investment by V.V. John
  1973 The Politics and Economics of “Intermediate Regimes” by K.N. Raj 1974 India’s Strategy for Industrial Growth: An Appraisal by H.K. Paranjape 1975 Growth and Diseconomies by Ashok Mitra
  1976 Revision of the Constitution by S.V. Kogekar
  1977 Science, Technology and Rural Development in India by M.N. Srinivas 1978 Educational Reform in India: A Historical Review by J.P. Naik
  1979 The Planning Process and Public Policy: A Reassessment by Tarlok Singh
• Out of Stock + Not Published No lecture was delivered in 1947 and 1970

R.B.R.R. Kale Memorial Lectures at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

1980    Problems of Indian Minorities by Aloo J. Dastur
1981    Measurement of Poverty by V.M. Dandekar
1982    IMF Conditionality and Low Income Countries by I.S. Gulati

• 1983 Inflation – Should it be Cured or Endured? by I.G. Patel
  1984 Concepts of Justice and Equality in the Indian Tradition by M.P. Rege
  1985 Equality of Opportunity and the Equal Distribution of Benefits by Andre Beteille
  1986 The Quest for Equity in Development by Manmohan Singh
  1987 Town and Country in Economy in Transition by K.R. Ranadive
  1988 Development of Development Thinking by Sukhamoy Chakravarty
  1989 Eighth Plan Perspectives by Malcolm S. Adiseshiah
  1990 Indian Public Debt by D.T. Lakdawala
  1991 Public Versus Private Sector: Neglect of Lessons of Economics in Indian Policy Formulation by
  B.S. Minhas
  1992 Agricultural and Rural Development in the 1990s and Beyond: What Should India Do and Why? by V. Kurien
  1993 An Essay on Fiscal Deficit by Raja J. Chelliah
  1994 The Financing of Higher Education in India by G. Ram Reddy
  1995 Patenting Life by Madhav Gadgil
  1996 Constitutional Values and the Indian Ethos by A.M. Ahmadi
  1997 Something Happening in India that this Nation Should be Proud of by Vasant Gowariker
  1998 Dilemmas of Development: The Indian Experience by S. Venkitaramanan
  1999 Post-Uruguay Round Trade Negotiations: A Developing Country Perspective by Mihir Rakshit
  2000 Poverty and Development Policy by A. Vaidyanathan
  2001 Fifty Years of Fiscal Federalism in India: An Appraisal by Amaresh Bagchi
• 2002 The Globalization Debate and India’s Economic Reforms by Jagdish Bhagwati
  2003 Challenges for Monetary Policy by C. Rangarajan
• 2004 The Evolution of Enlightened Citizen Centric Society by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
  2005 Poverty and Neo-Liberalism by Utsa Patnaik
  2006 Bridging Divides and Reducing Disparities by Kirit S. Parikh
  2007 Democracy and Economic Transformation in India by Partha Chatterjee
  2008 Speculation and Growth under Contemporary Capitalism by Prabhat Patnaik
  2009 Evolution of the Capital Markets and their Regulations in India by C.B. Bhave
• 2010 Higher Education in India: New Initiatives and Challenges by Sukhadeo Thorat
  2011 Food Inflation: This Time it’s Different by Subir Gokarn
  2012 Innovation Economy: The Challenges and Opportunities by R.A. Mashelkar
• 2014 World Input-Output Database: An Application to India by Erik Dietzenbacher Subject
• 2015 Global Economic Changes and their implications on Emerging Market Economies by
• 2016 Raghuram Rajan
  SECULAR STAGNATION-Observations on a Recurrent Spectre by Heinz D. Kurz
• 2017

2019 Role of Culture in Economic Growth and in Elimination of Poverty in India by N. R. Narayana Murthy
Central Banking: Retrospect and Prospects by Y. Venugopal Reddy

• 2020 Introduction to Mechanism Design by Eric Maskin