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Inequality as an Institutional and Political Problem:
A Critical Re-reading of Thomas Piketty’s Works
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Davood Manzoor *    |
| Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Economics, Faculty of Islamic Studies and Economics, Imam Sadiq University |
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Abstract: (21 Views) |
| Equality and social justice have long occupied a central place in social science and political economy; yet contemporary developments indicate that inequality remains one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century. In Iran, a significant gap in the existing literature arises from the scarcity of studies that simultaneously address the historical roots, institutional structures, and intergenerational consequences of inequality while offering analytically coherent and context-sensitive policy frameworks. This article seeks to address this gap through a systematic and critical re-reading of Thomas Piketty’s works. The study integrates long-term quantitative analyses of income and wealth distribution with a normative and ethical critique of justice, thereby enabling a multidimensional understanding of inequality as an economic, political, and institutional phenomenon. The main research questions examine: (1) how a comprehensive conception of equality encompassing economic, political, and social dimensions can be developed through the synthesis of historical and philosophical approaches; (2) what institutional, historical, and ideological factors underlie the reproduction of inequality; and (3) which national and global policy strategies may contribute to sustainable inequality reduction and intergenerational justice. Methodologically, the article employs a historical–comparative approach combined with a critical review of the literature. Long-term historical data on income and wealth distribution are analyzed alongside discourse analysis of Piketty’s writings and key concepts of justice in modern political philosophy. This framework allows for both the reconstruction of historical trajectories of inequality and a normative evaluation of proposed policy responses. The findings drawn from Piketty’s work suggest that inequality is not an inevitable outcome of market forces but rather the product of institutional arrangements and the concentration of economic and political power. Historical periods marked by strong redistributive policies, progressive taxation, and the decommodification of public services have been associated with sustained reductions in inequality, whereas neoliberal policy shifts have contributed to its resurgence. By foregrounding the institutional and political dimensions of inequality and linking economic analysis to moral critique, this article contributes to the Iranian literature on equality and social justice and proposes an analytically grounded framework for context-sensitive policymaking. |
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| Keywords: Equality, Inequality, Intergenerational justice, Economic democracy, Piketty |
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Full-Text [PDF 623 kb]
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
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