Piketty'nin Kapital’indeki Sermaye, Yoksulluk ve Eşitsizlik Yaklaşımı Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

Son elli yılda gelişmiş kapitalist dünyada artan gelir ve servet eşitsizlikleri sorunu, hem sosyal araştırmaların hem de siyasi mücadelenin konusu olmuştur. Bu gelişmeye paralel olarak 1970'lerin ortalarından bu yana küresel olarak eşitsizliğin büyümesini fazlasıyla belgeleyen kapsamlı bir literatür oluşmuştur. Özellikle Fransız ekonomist Thomas Piketty'nin, Batı’daki ekonomik eşitsizliğe ilişkin dönüm noktası niteliğindeki analizi bu açıdan önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. “Yirmi Birinci Yüzyılda Kapital” isimli kitap, hem popüler hem de akademik çevrelerde büyük ilgi gören ve kapitalizmin geleceği ile ilgili kapsamlı bir eserdir. Bu kitapta Piketty, ekonomik büyüme teorileri ile fonksiyonel ve kişisel gelir dağılımları arasında bağlantı kurarak kapitalist ekonominin işleyişine dair birleşik bir teori oluşturmaya çalışır. Bunu yaparken aynı zamanda sermaye birikimini ve dağıtımını yönlendiren büyük dinamiklerin neler olduğunu bulmaya çalışır. Ona göre eşitsizliğin uzun vadeli evrimi, servetin yoğunlaşması ve ekonomik büyüme beklentisi ile ilgili sorular, ekonomi politiğin merkezinde yer alır. Uzun vadeli tarihsel veri serilerine dayanarak, ekonomik ayrışmanın güçlerinin kapitalizmde egemen olma eğilimindedir. 20. yüzyılı bu kuralın bir istisnası olarak görür ve 21. yüzyılda kapitalizmi sürdürülebilir kılacak politikalar önerir. Bu doğrultuda, temel ekonomik ve sosyal kalıpları ortaya çıkarmak için on sekizinci yüzyıla kadar uzanan yirmi ülkeden benzersiz bir veri koleksiyonunu analiz ediyor. Ayrıca zenginlik ve eşitsizliğin tarihsel gelişimini açıklamak için 18. yüzyıla kadar uzanan verileri kullanıyor. Verilerle eşleşen bir model önerir ve bu modeli 21. yüzyılda artan servet eşitsizliğini tahmin etmek için kullanır. Hatta senaryoyu desteklemek için yüksek gelir ve servet üzerinden vergi alınmasını önerir.

Keywords

• Thomas Piketty
• Yirmi birinci yüzyılda kapital
• Yoksulluk
• Eşitsizlik

An Assessment on Capital, Poverty and Inequality Approach in Pıketty's Capital

Abstract

The problem of increasing income and wealth inequalities in the developed capitalist world in the last fifty years has been the subject of both social studies and political struggle. In the process, an extensive literature has emerged that amply documents the growth of inequality globally since the mid-1970s. Especially French economist Thomas Piketty's landmark analysis of economic inequality in the West has an important place in this respect. The book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” is a comprehensive work on the future of capitalism, which has received great attention in both popular and academic circles. In this book, Piketty tries to create a unified theory of the workings of the capitalist economy by linking economic growth theories with functional and personal income distributions. While doing this, it also tries to find out what the major dynamics are that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital. For him, questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospect of economic growth are central to political economy. Based on long-term historical data series, the forces of economic disintegration tend to dominate capitalism. It sees the 20th century as an exception to this rule and proposes policies that will make capitalism sustainable in the 21st century. Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries dating back to the eighteenth century to reveal key economic and social patterns. In this context, he uses data dating back to the 18th century to explain the historical development of wealth and inequality. It proposes a model that matches the data and uses this model to predict rising wealth inequality in the 21st century. He recommends levying taxes on high income and wealth to support this scenario.

Keywords

• Thomas Piketty
• Capital in the Twenty-First Century
• Poverty
• Inequality

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