hy does Thomas Picketty think that political societies should implement an annual progressive wealth tax and a capital endowment? Critically evaluate some aspect of his proposal or the argument for it.

Due Date: the assignment is due to the appropriate folder on the D2L site by Sunday, 12/8, at 11:59pm.

Length: approximately 500-600 words

To prepare for writing the essay it is highly recommended that you do the assigned readings for this module and watch the lecture videos! The lecture videos are likely to help you organize your interpretation of the reading.

Internal Citation Requirement for the assignment: Your essay must include at least TWO internal citations where you refer to course materials for this module, one to the Picketty article (Picketty, p. x) and one to the lecture videos from this module (Oberdick, mm:ss). These are just schematic examples, you will need to provide the exact page numbers and timestamp in your internal citations.

Internal Citation Requirement Penalty: Failure to include the citations will result in a 30 point penalty on the assignment, 15 points for each missing citation.

Question for the essay: Why does Thomas Picketty think that political societies should implement an annual progressive wealth tax and a capital endowment? Critically evaluate some aspect of his proposal or the argument for it.

Your essay should be clearly organized in 6 paragraphs (see below) and contain no grammatical errors:

In your 1st paragraph briefly introduce your topic.

In this paragraph be sure to provide a rough outline of your paper, and a brief statement of your main critical point regarding Picketty’s proposal.

Feel free to use the first person “I” throughout your essay. “In this essay I will present… and conclude that…”

In your 2^nd paragraph describe Picketty’s proposals.

In this paragraph be sure to describe both the wealth tax and the capital endowment, in how these fit into the larger institutional scheme Picketty has in mind, as presented in the chart on p. 982.

In your 3^rd paragraph, characterize the conception of justice Picketty is working with.

In your 4^th paragraph, lay out Picketty’s argument for his proposal.

Here you will need say how the proposals are connected to the conception of justice given the facts of inequality Picketty has discussed.

In your 5th paragraph, critically engage with some aspect of the argument from paragraph 4.

There are lots of possibilities here.

Is the argument correct or incorrect? If so, why?

Do the proposals flow from the conception of justice, but is the conception of justice itself problematic?

Can the argument be strengthened by considerations that Picketty fails to consider?

Is it hard to evaluate the argument because certain key terms in the argument are unclear or underspecified?

Has Picketty overlooked important moral considerations that might tell against the proposals he favors?

The key thing is to focus on some aspect, and then develop a clear stance regarding that aspect and then digging in to develop a defense of that stance.

In your 6^th paragraph briefly conclude.

This paragraph can be 1 or 2 sentences in which you briefly sum up.

Do NOT number your paragraphs or include the assignment questions in your answer. Your assignment should read like an essay, with appropriate transitions between paragraphs. For example, you may want to the second paragraph with: “So, let’s first present Picketty’s account of wealth inequality in the U.S.”

Each paragraph of the assignment will count for a portion of the final grade, as follows:

1^st paragraph – 5%

2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th paragraphs – 20% each

4th paragraph – 30%

5^th paragraph – 5%

The assignment will be graded for:

Completeness: Be sure to answer each aspect of the questions asked.

Accuracy: Be sure to accurately explain Picketty’s proposals and argument.

Organization: Your essay follow the 6 paragraph structure outlined above.

Clarity: Your ideas should be clearly expressed and the reader should be able to easily follow your train of thought. Avoid convoluted sentences. Write concisely.

Grammar: Your essay should contain no grammar or spelling mistakes.

Length: The assignment should be at least 250 words long. There will be no penalty for assignments that go longer than the suggested approximate word count.

References: This is not a research paper. Unless you use sources outside those posted on our D2L site, it is not necessary to include a separate reference or works cited page. But, DO internally cite any direct quotes or closely paraphrased content from our course materials. For Thomas Picketty’s “Elements for a Participatory Socialim” use (Picketty, p. x). For lecture videos use, for example, (Oberdick, 12.3, 3:20).