Hi Jason and all, From: "Jason White" <jason@jasonjgw.net>
I sympathize. I was going to cite Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century in the context of recent discussions here .. It's a very worthwhile book to read, with plenty of meticulous research into the history and predicted future of economic inequality.
I have read _about_ the book but not the book yet. I grew up with "Communist" education and that included a lot of Marx and Engels. I have to admit, some of it still seems to be the most logic description of the inner workings of capitalism (the construction of a Communist society as a way out has some serious flaws - but that's a different matter) AFAIK, Marxism is not dead in the teaching of economics. Is Piketty's "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" a book in that mould or does it differ a lot? I wonder sometimes how much people know and reflect where the 40 hours week, holidays, sick pay etc. come from. E.g. what is the Eight Hour Monument about? (http://www.onmydoorstep.com.au/heritage-listing/13841/eight-hour-monument) My Chinese wife saw Ken Loach's "The Spirit of '45" (http://www.thespiritof45.com/) at last year's film festival. It was a revelation for her. For me it was education in British history too (something I could not say about "The Iron Lady" movie with Meryl Streep, it was a very "fluffy" movie, I think) Regards Peter