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By New York Times Opinion
Thomas Piketty is one of the world’s leading economists, a socialist who has been studying the corrosive effects of inequality for decades. Last May, he sat down with Harvard’s Michael Sandel, one of the world’s most prominent political philosophers, for a talk at the Paris School of Economics about the moral limits of markets and the future of the left. They tussled over what liberals would have to do to counter a rising tide of nativism from Donald Trump and the other conservative politicians gaining traction around the globe.
In the months that followed, Piketty and Sandel continued to chat via email, clashing over questions of identity and belonging: When do borders matter?How can we find a balance between nationalism and internationalism?What are our day-to-day tasks for immigrants, and how can we convince Americans that the formula is fair?
Today, with Democrats struggling over how much of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda to support as well as the future of their party, Times Opinion has adapted Mr. Piketty and Mr. Sandel’s conversations. Both men have long been critics of mainstream liberalism from the distinct perspectives of their respective fields — Mr. Piketty as an economist, Mr. Sandel as a philosopher. Their back-and-forth, edited for length and clarity, builds to a surprising conclusion: that the left must reclaim a form of identity politics.
Michael Sandel: Let me review your foreign socialist principles with a topic about borders. Is there an intelligent explanation for why not open the borders in principle?
Thomas Piketty: I think the free circulation of people always comes with some specific public goods that need to be financed, whether it’s education, transportation or the environment. To take an example, European Union member states have decided that you are free as a student to go to any E.U. country where you want to study. I think it’s a fantastic principle, one of the great achievements of the European Union. The only problem is that we didn’t plan anything to pay for this.
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