The Disinherited Majority · Capital Questions-Piketty and Beyond

Thomas Piketty's blockbuster 2014 book, Capital in the 21st Century, may prove to be a game-changer, one of those rare books such as Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, which helped spark a new feminist movement. The world-wide flood of commentary suggests Piketty's book has already opened a new conversation not only about inequality, but about class, capitalism and social justice. Inherited wealth is at the heart of Capital in the 21st Century, and Derber shows how the 'disinherited majority' is likely to affect the future. In his new book, Derber shows that there are actually 'two Pikettys' - different voices of the author on the 1%, inheritance, and capitalism itself - that create a fascinating and unacknowledged hidden debate and conversation within the book. Drawing on Piketty's discussion, Derber raises fourteen 'capital questions' - with new perspectives on caste and class warfare, the Great Recession, the decline of the American Dream and the Occupy movement - that can guide a new conversation about the past and future of capitalism. The Disinherited Majority will catalyse a conversation beyond Piketty already emerging in colleges and universities, town halls, coffee shops, workplaces and political parties and social movements; an essential class for all Americans.

“In The Disinherited Majority, Charles Derber insightfully picks up

where Thomas Piketty leaves off, making clear that the stubborn

inequality of capitalism is not just a mechanical process but one that

must be understood socially and politically.” ―Robert Kuttner, Co-Editor, The American Prospect "This

book carries forward in an accessible and highly informative way "the

new global conversation about money and morality in a troubled

capitalist world" provoked by Thomas Piketty's important and influential

study. Issues of prime importance are addressed. The book succeeds

admirably in its aim of drawing anyone who is concerned with the deep

and often painful problems of contemporary society into this

conversation as an active participant, a necessary precondition for any

hope for a more democratic and just future." ―Noam Chomsky "A

brilliant, provocative, and illuminating engagement. Derber shows where

and how Piketty's flawed masterpiece can help spark and shape an

urgently required new popular movement for social justice and democracy

in the United States." ―Paul Street, Author of They Rule: The 1% vs. Democracy “This

book is stunning in the scope of ideas it covers in a concise but deep

and rich manner. Readers, including students studying economics,

political science, sociology, history, business, public policy, public

health and social justice, will dig into this book with great intrigue

and excitement. My students will find this book an exciting platform

from which to intensely debate the vast inequalities of wealth and power

in today’s world, and to equally intensely seek solutions.” ―Jonathan White, Author of The Engaged Sociologist: Connecting the Classroom to the Community

Charles Derber, Professor of Sociology at Boston College, has

written twenty books,including bestsellers with multiple translations

and editions. He has also written opinion pieces for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, Newsday, and other newspapers and magazines. His most recent book is Capitalism: Should You Buy It? An Invitation to Political Economy (Paradigm 2014).