Much of the economic discussion between liberals and conservatives is an argument over how to arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. The only question that really matters is how to keep the whole ship from going under. (The final installment in an 8 part series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

Whether as inherited capital, high incomes or the coffers of corporate “persons,” money begats money as never before. In a modern capitalist economy, that is really all you need to know. (Part 7 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

For 60 years, policy-makers have looked to the Kuznets Curve for evidence that a rising tide lifts all boats. It is a lovely thought, if only it were true. (Part 6 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

A single simple idea can change the terms of a conversation. The core of “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” is that kind of idea. It shifts the paradigm. Instead of trying to explain correlations, Piketty makes testable predictions. For those who take the time to understand him, Piketty changes the way people see.  (Part 5 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

Anyone who owns a small business knows what they rely on more than anything else: customers with money in their pockets! (Part 4 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

As Albert Einstein said, “Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not simpler.” Thomas Piketty may have set the world on fire with his tour de force, but simplified versions of his basic ideas are not at all hard to understand. (Part 3 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

Capitalism is not a philosophical position. Capitalism is a system. The first step in any meaningful discussion about the economy is to throw ideology overboard and instead ask, “What is a system, and how do systems behave?”

(Part 2 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century.”)

Thomas Piketty is largely responsible for focusing the world’s attention on the growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. His book, Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century is a flashpoint in that discussion. But before lining up as partisans, it might first be worth understanding his ideas.

(Part 1 in a series on Thomas Piketty’s Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century.)