Structure

Piketty's study fills out nearly 600 pages of text, with an additional roughly 100 pages in notes. This mass of research is organized into four parts, with additional introduction and conclusion sections. The parts mark out general direction of the study, while individual chapters within them discuss specific topics that relate to the overall theme. The parts, as well as the chapters, bear titles that orient the reader the subject matter at hand. They also limit what the reader can expect Piketty to accomplish in his analysis for any given part or chapter. Thus Piketty will broach a topic in an early chapter, but announce that a more comprehensive treatment of the topic will occur in a later part or chapter that he specifies. Thus the progression of these parts and chapters proceeds from the definition of the most fundamental concepts, to their application to more complex historical and...