皮凯蒂之问——观念、历史与不平等研究

The Piketty’s Question:conceptional history and the study of inequality

不平等是经济学等社会科学学科的热点议题。托马斯·皮凯蒂持续关注这一领域。在《21世纪资本论》的基础上,他的近作《资本与意识形态》试图推进不平等研究。皮凯蒂认为,资本收益率超过经济增长率是经济不平等的根源,但分化的关键在于政治与意识形态的结合使得西方收入和受教育程度不高的底层失去改善其不平等境况的机会。在“皮凯蒂之问”的观念史考察中,西方学界的不平等探讨或排斥政治权力而放任资本权力,或批判资本权力而寄望政治权力,“单线批判”与“二元对立”使经济与社会科学在“富人经济学”和“穷人政治学”之间摇摆。中国“共同富裕”概念的出发点是共同体的福让,落脚点是对资本与权力的双线批判。可以此为契机,与全球“不平等”研究进行理论对话,明晰其对国际社会科学的意义。

Inequality is a hot topic in such social science disciplines as economics.Thomas Piketty focuses on the field in a continuous effort.Based on Capital in the Twenty-first Century,he tried to promote the study on inequality in his recent work,Capital and Ideology.While he believes in that the root of economic inequality is ROE surpassed growth rate,Piketty argues that the key for differentiation is a mix of politics and ideology result in the lower classes with low income and educational levels losing the opportunity to change their conditions.In an examination of the conceptional history of“Piketty’s Question,”we can found that in their studies of inequality,western scholars either reject political power,let the power of capital go unchecked,or criticize the power of capital and bank on political power.“Unilinear critique”and“binary opposition”make economics and social sciences oscillate between“the Economics for the Rich”and“the Political Science for the Poor.”The aim of China’s conception,Common Prosperity,is the well-being of community,and its foothold is the double-line critique of capital and power.It can be seen as an opportunity for the dialogue on inequality in the world and make its meaning for the international social sciences clear.