
Be Skeptical of Both Piketty And His Skeptics - libovness
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/be-skeptical-of-both-piketty-and-his-skeptics/
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mempko
The critics always give the following argument for capital: "Capital
accumulations raised the standards of living like no other".

I prefer to counter with the following.

Capital accumulation may in fact be a reason for increased living standards.
For example, one of the largest capital accumulation events in history, the
formation of the Soviet Union did in fact raise millions out of poverty. What
isn't stated is that capital accumulation is synonymous with reduction of
democratic freedoms. What happens if we value a rise in living standards over
a rise in democratic freedoms? It appears the result is wholesale destruction
of the planet's ecosystem without the political power to stop it.

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zenogais
It's possible to raise the standard of living of the working class while
increasing the rate at which they are exploited, as explained in the lecture
video below:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqEKLuPCgZ0#t=11m47s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqEKLuPCgZ0#t=11m47s)

~~~
deciplex
And that probably ties a great deal into wealth disparity in the first place,
wealth being highly correlated with power as it is. Is it worth it, if
everyone is affluent with plenty of leisure time and in good health, if a
small fraction of a percent of the population control over half the wealth and
means of production? Would such a society be stable?

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higherpurpose
He used spreadsheets for that data? Let's hope it wasn't Excel:

[http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/microsoft-
excel-t...](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/microsoft-excel-the-
ruiner-of-global-economies/)

