Description: Drawing on centuries of data, Julia Cagé and Thomas Piketty place today's French politics in historical context. France is divided among bourgeois and distinct urban and rural working-class blocs--historically, an unstable structure. The authors show how inequality breeds tripartite competition and argue for the greater potential of two-way rivalry.
Brief description: Julia Cagé is Professor of Economics at Sciences Po Paris and the author of Saving the Media and The Price of Democracy.
Review Quotes: In a work of significant scientific importance, economists Julia Cagé and Thomas Piketty skillfully blend politics and history, sociology, economics, and geography. An intersection of ideas from which several surprising insights emerge to illuminate the major issues at stake today.--Marianne