Piketty Sees Echoes of Ancient Class Divisions

Thomas Piketty analyzes current political divides through the lens of historical social structures in France. He draws a parallel to ancient “trifunctional” societies where warriors and intellectuals balanced each other, guiding the working class. Piketty contends this model appears less as a fixed reality and more as a justification formulated by priests and bishops to control warriors.

Today, Piketty observes a similar dynamic between a nationalist, anti-intellectual right—represented by Donald Trump and the Republican party in the United States—and a liberal, internationalist left embodied by the Democratic party. He argues this opposition is largely artificial.

This division allows national and liberal elites to maintain power over working classes, preventing genuine popular change. Piketty suggests the article is incomplete, with roughly 66% remaining behind a paywall, so further analysis is needed to fully develop his argument.