Kapital & Ideologie - Als Graphic Novel

Kapital & Ideologie

The political message of Piketty's monumental work made easy to understand

‘The history of every society to date has been nothing but a history of the struggle between ideologies and the desire for justice.’

– Thomas Piketty

In his book Capital and Ideology, published by C.H. Beck in 2020, Piketty analyses the history of property ownership from the French Revolution to the present day in over 1,300 pages. He observes – and repeatedly demonstrates – that property tends to become concentrated, resulting in ever-increasing inequality in society. This in turn slows down economic growth as consumption declines because the rich can hardly consume their capital income. Only the two world wars were able to temporarily halt this development, but since the victory of neoliberalism in the 1980s, the redistribution of property in favour of the rich and super-rich has been progressing rapidly again.

This is only possible because property is declared sacred, because state institutions, politics, public opinion, the self-image of the richer and more powerful in society – in short, ideology – serve to cement inequality.

In contrast, Piketty envisions the possibility of a more equitable and contented society through state redistribution.

Claire Alet and illustrator Benjamin Adam have adapted Piketty's ideas into a graphic novel based on an eight-generation French family history. Time and again, the family members feel threatened by the introduction of an income tax – possibly even a progressive one – or by taxes on their property, but they manage to preserve and expand their wealth despite taxes, war and inflation. Finally, however, Lea, the youngest member of the family, discovers old lists in the family's old villa by the sea detailing the slaves for whose loss her ancestors were compensated – one of the sources of the family's wealth. And she begins to wonder whether a more just society might be possible.

Piketty has a few suggestions for this.

The Press

‘This shows why Piketty, despite all his academic significance, has also become the celebrated “rock star of economics”.’

Andreas Zielcke, SZ

"Anyone who still enjoys reading but likes to look at explanatory pictures is in luck. Piketty's next bestseller, Capital and Ideology, is being published in comic form. Economic journalist Claire Alet has translated it into panels together with illustrator Benjamin Adam. Alet recounts Piketty's historical overview and his theses through the story of a wealthy French family spanning eight generations. At the end, she points to possible ways out of inequality."

Falk Straub, ALFONZ

‘Thomas Piketty's Capital and Ideology is not only an analysis of capital and capitalism, but also a programme for its redesign or transformation.’

Cord Riechelmann, FAS

"As indisputably significant as the two (main) works by the French economics professor are, they are hardly readable for the general public due to their extreme length of more than 2,000 pages. For those interested, there is now a way out with “Capital & Ideology”, written by Claire Alet and illustrated by Benjamin Adam. [...] The numerous facts and figures on the development of social inequality are presented clearly in a colourful mix of charts, infographics, maps and diagrams."

Mario Zehe, taz blogs

‘Packing a scientific critique of capitalism, written down on approximately 1,300 pages, into a comic book and inventing a narrative to go with it requires considerable courage, which in this case was not wasted. [...] Excellent as an introduction to Piketty and to understanding our economic system: widely applicable.’

Olaf Kaptein, ekz

‘With their graphic novel, Claire Alet and Benjamin Adam [...] make an important contribution to dispelling neoliberal myths. They clearly illustrate that Thomas Piketty's analyses explaining global social inequality and his proposals for restructuring property relations in hypercapitalism deserve to be discussed in politics and society.’

Dr Marcel Remme, lehrerbibliothek.de

What Piketty covered in over 1,200 pages, Alet and Adam illustrate using a French family history. Spanning eight generations, the narrative moves from the French Revolution, slavery, colonisation and the world wars to the economic miracle, crises in the EU and the COVID-19 pandemic. [...] Benjamin Adam's illustrations make it easier to understand the complex issues. Combined with Claire Alet's sometimes ironic and humorous language, it is a real pleasure to follow the family. Despite its simplifications, the graphic novel is very well done in terms of content and offers an overview of the connections in economic history."

Jana Senf, iz3w

‘In the form of a family saga, the two authors of this graphic novel offer us a clear, entertaining and enriching adaptation of Piketty's text. A book that everyone should read.’

leslibraires.fr

‘Right from the first pages, you are drawn into the narrative.’

Éric Aeschimann, Le Nouvel Observateur

‘Where do inequalities come from and why do they persist? To answer these questions, the book offers a version of Thomas Piketty's bestseller “Capital and Ideology” that is accessible to all.’

canalbd.net

‘Thomas Piketty shows us that it is up to us to write history.’

Esther Duflo, Nobel Prize winner for economics

»Eine Journalistin und ein Comiczeichner haben Pikettys jüngstes voluminöses Werk ›Kapital und Ideologie‹ in eine Graphic Novel umgesetzt. In der Bilderzählung begleiten die Lesenden die fiktive, eins wohlhabende französische Familiendynastie der Guérins durch die letzten 200 Jahre. […] Geschickt wird als Handlungsrahmen der im Laufe der Zeit schwindende Reichtum der Familie mit umfangreichem Sachwissen zu den verschiedenen wirtschaftlichen und politischen Entwicklungen und Geschehnissen der jeweiligen Zeit verflochten. […] Auch wenn Frankreich im Mittelpunkt steht, werden durchaus Vergleiche zu anderen Ländern, auch Deutschland, gezogen.«

Siegfried Schmidt, Buchprofile/medienprofile