A critical feminist and race critique of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century documents the foreboding nature of rising wealth inequality in the twenty-first century. In an effort to promote a more just and democratic global society and rein in the unfettered accumulation of wealth by the few, Piketty calls for a global progressive annual tax on corporate capital. Employing a critical feminist and race perspective on the political economy, this article examines Piketty’s historical understanding of inequality, and considers how his proposed solution to redistribute corporate profits through a global tax on corporate capital would impact the racialized, gendered, and geographically based inequalities experienced by marginalized girls and women, including access to education, employment, and other basic needs. The article argues that Piketty’s proposed solution would leave corporate strategies for accumulating wealth untouched, and would do little to transform the durable, deeply entrenched inequalities experienced by poor, racialized girls and women.