On Piketty’s Socialism:

A Marxist Appraisal

Abstract

This paper examines Piketty’s idea of ’participatory socialism’ from a Marxist theoretical perspective. By employing Marxian class analysis and the framework of Social Structure of Accumulation (SSA), the author argues that Piketty’s socialism will facilitate capitalism’s transition into a new ’institutional’ form, thus helping to perpetuate exploitation that arises from the differential [surplus] value production. This is because Piketty’s socialism fails to fully abolish class as ’process’ by insisting instead on  circulating [private] property and co-determination coupled with other reforms aimed at social justice. To fully realize the revolutionary potential of Piketty’s socialism, the author calls for establishing a ’synergetic democratic society’, which can be achieved by democratizing all aspects of the society, viz. economic, political, and cultural.