Economist Thmas Piketty’s radical book has angered the right with its powerful argument about wealth, democracy and why capitalism will always create inequality.

Piketty’s core argument is that, in an economy where the rate of return on capital outstrips the rate of growth, inherited wealth will always grow faster than earned wealth. So the fact that rich kids can swan aimlessly from gap year to internship to a job at father’s bank/ministry/TV network – while the poor kids sweat into their barista uniforms – is not an accident: it is the system working normally.

As we approach the full economic fall-out from the Covid-19 crisis, we will all need to work hard to keep up with the unfolding economic situation. There has never beeen a better time to get to grips with Piketty’s landmark book.