a16z Podcast

a16z Podcast: The Two Big Problems With Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century”

Lawrence Summers and Balaji Srinivasan

Posted May 16, 2014
“At a moment of great concern about inequality, now comes a learned tome proclaiming the gravity of the inequality problem,” says Larry Summers in a conversation with Andreessen Horowitz general partner Balaji Srinivasan. “It’s a stunning thing, and it must reflect positively on the growing intellectualism of the society that a book like that could be a best-seller.” But that doesn’t mean Piketty got it right, adds the former Secretary of the Treasury and current a16z special advisor. Summers describes the two big problems he sees with Piketty’s argument, and Srinivasan shares how the forces of technology and globalization are better lenses for viewing and explaining income inequality.

 

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The a16z Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.

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