Summary

Chapter 7 analyzes the topics of inequality and distribution at the individual level. Piketty introduces his subject with a discussion surrounding an excerpt from Balzac’s Pere Goriot, meant to highlight that the returns one can make from a given career path are largely determined by structures of distribution, rather than the individual intensity of one’s study, effort, and merit (238-9). Piketty then compares the social implications of earning income from inherited wealth, versus earning income from labor (240-1). He emphasizes that income inequality can be measured by the capital-labor split, but even within these two categories more complex inequalities exist (242-243).

Piketty observes that inequality with respect to capital is “always greater” than inequality with respect to labor. A smaller percentage of the population owns the largest share of capital and income from capital than is the case for labor from income...