走向不平等的21世纪资本:托马斯·皮克迪的财富分配理论

Toward the Unequal Capital in the Twenty-First Century:Thomas Piketty's Theory on Distribution of Wealth

美国经济学家库兹涅茨认为,收入分配不平等的长期发展呈现出一个倒U曲线。在经历了资本主义初期贫富分化严重,不平等呈上升趋势之后,在资本主义高度发展阶段将会自动降低。经济增长将会惠及所有人,每个社会团体都将以同等的程度从发展中获得利益。法国当代经济学家皮克迪认为,当资本收益率比经济增长率更快时,不平等现象就会加剧。20世纪70年代以来,收入不平等在富裕国家急剧上升,尤其是在美国更为严重。经济精英把资本作为收入来源而不是依赖劳动收入,出色的管理人员无法战胜肥猫股东,专业技能不能战胜裙带关系,人力资本无法取得对金融资本和地产资本的胜利,最终,是财富而不是劳动导致社会不平等。不平等不是偶然的,而是资本主义制度的内在逻辑。

American Economist Kuznets holds that the long term development of income inequality takes an inverted U curve:after the first stage of serious wealth gap in the capitalism,the income inequality will increase;in the high stage of capitalist development,the inequality will decrease automatically.Economic increase will benefit everyone;every social group will get its own share at the same rate from the development.Contemporary French economist Piketty believes that when the rate of the return on capital outgrows the economic growth rate,the income inequality will intensify.Since the 1970 s,the income inequality has increased rapidly in the wealthiest countries,especially in the US.The economic elites depend their income on capital.The excellent managers cannot defeat the fat cat shareholders,nor can professional skills win over nepotism,nor can manpower capital gain a victory over financial and real estate capital.Finally,it is wealth that results in the social inequality.The inequality is not incidental but an inner logic of capitalism.