The Venue in downtown Peterborough was home to some highly esteemed guests February 12 as Trent University and the extended community welcomed several of the brightest academic minds to discuss their thoughts in a panel discussion on Thomas Piketty’s bestselling book, “Capital in the Twenty First Century”.
“This is the most talked about book in economics” said Dr. Tom Phillips, a Trent graduate and former professor of Economics at Trent and Fleming College. Professor Philips was joined on the panel by internationally-renowned economist and special guest Dr. Anwar Shaikh and Dr. Dennis Badeen, a current MA student in the Sustainability Studies program and instructor in the Business Administration program at Trent.
“The book is important in the impact it’s made, bringing unequal distribution up front,” echoed Dr. Shaikh, professor of Economics at The New School for Social Research in New York.
As one of the world’s leading heterodox economists, renowned for thinking outside of mainstream economics, Professor Shaikh has taught at the New School for Social Research for more than 30 years, authored three books and six-dozen articles. His contributions have been recognized by Cambridge University Press’ recently released second volume of Eminent Economists, a compendium of essays on the personal philosophies and theoretical approaches of influential living economists. He has written on international trade, finance theory, political economy, macroeconomic policy, the welfare state, growth theory, inflation theory, crisis theory, inequality on the world scale, and past and current global economic crises.
“Piketty’s insights don’t just apply to national and global economies. From the analysis of actual forces in in economies - big and small - when income and wealth become increasingly concentrated in fewer hands, there are unsustainable economic consequences," said Dr. Tom Phillips. "The unusual swings in the rate of unemployment in Peterborough - lower than the national and provincial average in the Fall; higher than the national and provincial average in the Spring - can be partially explained by the growing power (from income and wealth) in the hands of those in our community making hiring decisions in the private and public sectors. With young people at the bottom of our income distribution, they are the ones who most often suffer the consequences of the increasingly disparate distribution of income and wealth, and the consequent exertion of their economic power.”
“It was a privilege to have Prof. Anwar Shaikh share his insights on this timely and critical topic. The fact that so many community members joined our students and faculty for this event is testimony to the growing relevance of issues of social and economic inequality, and the structural drivers underlying these escalating trends in the 21st century,” said Dr. Asaf Zohar, chair of Trent’s Sustainability Studies Program. “This session was delightfully provocative on many different levels. As Dr. Shaikh highlighted, Piketty’s work offers robust empirical evidence of the growing capital inequality in our times. That's something we should all really worry about, as scholars, educators, and as members of a democratic society.”
The public panel discussion was hosted by Trent University and the Sustainability Studies M.A. program as part of the ongoing Trent Idea Exchange event series.
Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2015.