Thomas Piketty: The dream of equality

October 27, 2025

^{This report was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.}

Inequality – both social and economic – has decreased over the past few centuries. Nevertheless, differences remain significant, particularly in Africa and Latin America. However, countries could still take a considerable step towards greater equality by rigorously redistributing inheritances.

By Joost van Mierlo

That is the message from Thomas Piketty, the Frenchman who had the rare pleasure of writing a genuine bestseller as an economist: Capital in the Twenty-First Century. More than two and a half million copies were sold worldwide.

Piketty is one of the most radical economists of our time, which may explain his success. He wants to tackle the major social problems of our time – inequality and, above all, climate change – with a rigorous redistribution of wealth. This involves not only a wealth tax of “at least” 2%, as he recently made clear in an interview with Bloomberg, but also a “significant” inheritance tax, for which there is currently no political support.

In a recent lecture at the London School of Economics, Piketty shared his latest insights on his desired changes. They formed a prelude to the four-year international study on developments in inequality, the final results of which will be presented in Paris next year.

According to Piketty, there is reason for optimism when it comes to reducing inequality in the world. “Over the past few centuries, there has been a decline in inequality throughout the world. In some parts of the world, this decline has been faster than elsewhere, but the trend is general.” According to Piketty, it is a matter of political choices to restart and even accelerate the process, which seems to have stalled in the West since the late 1990s.

The differences in inequality, measured in terms of purchasing power, are still enormous. In some countries, especially in southern Africa, the richest 10% of the population has access to about 70% of the national income, according to Piketty's latest data. In northern countries, including the Netherlands, that percentage is about 25%.

According to Piketty, the same applies to the share of national income – measured in terms of purchasing power – that belongs to the half of the population that earns the least. In some northern European countries, the percentage rises to more than 35% of national income, if taxes are included, while in southern Africa it remains at what Piketty calls a “miserable” 5%.
 

The knowledge exploited by AI companies is, in fact, the property of us all. We should all benefit from it.

 
The differences are still enormous. ‘This is not just about income,’ says Piketty. It is clearly not the scenario Piketty is hoping for. ‘We are testing models that involve a huge redistribution of income, similar to what we have seen in the past century. So historically, it is not unrealistic.’

In the past, changes mainly took place thanks to enormous pressure from trade unions in north-western Europe. According to Piketty, it is by no means certain that these developments will take place in the poorest countries of Africa. He realises that it is no easy task. “How can you influence the political circumstances in such a way that the scenario I desire becomes possible?”

Ten years ago, Piketty tells his audience, a wealth tax was still considered an outrage internationally. Today, he says, many countries are flirting with the idea.

According to Piketty, this has to do with a shift in the political spectrum. In the past, people with above-average education tended to vote right-wing, while those with less education voted left-wing. That situation has changed dramatically in recent decades, with positions shifting almost 100%.

The biggest change has taken place around the differences between urban and rural areas. Piketty points out that when François Mitterrand was elected, there was hardly any difference between his support in the cities and his support in rural areas. That has all changed, with rural areas making a huge shift to the right.
 

The situation in Africa will improve somewhat, but the gap with the more advanced countries in the world remains enormous.

 
According to Piketty, this is primarily due to the fact that the rural population felt humiliated because city dwellers had access to advanced facilities such as high-speed trains and better hospitals. The second major problem is that the traditional supporters of social democratic parties have been hit hard by the consequences of economic liberalism, often implemented by governments in which socialist or social democratic parties participated. In addition, many strategic, traditional industries were lost to the cheap labour that Asian countries in particular had to offer.

Looking to the future, the focus is mainly on the role that AI can play. Piketty is sceptical. “It seems that the interests of companies specialising in AI are being given priority.” According to Piketty, that is not how it should be. “The knowledge exploited by AI companies is, in fact, the property of us all. We should all benefit from it. But that is not what is happening at the moment.”

A very fundamental discussion is currently taking place. To what extent can private companies gain access to, and thereby profit from, numerous pieces of personal information? As far as Piketty is concerned, the answer is clear. The profits generated by these companies must be used, not to say reduced, to reduce the inequality that still exists in the world.

With President Trump in the White House, he seems to have the tide against him. But Piketty is still energetic. ‘It also opens up opportunities,’ says Piketty. ‘It shows that you can treat sectors very differently than is currently the case. This applies not only to the high-tech sector, which we talk about when we talk about AI, but also to the financial sector and the luxury goods sector, in which my native France excels.’

According to Piketty, these are all sectors where the government can skim off the profits and use them to redistribute income. For now, Piketty finds himself on the losing side of the political spectrum, but who knows what the future holds?