Theoretically. Piketty's book doesn't just show how and why wealth inequality (and consequent social inequality) is increasing. He also examined the great crash of wealth in the first half of the 20th century which birthed the middle class and give it a few decades of breathing room, and applies those lessons to a proposal for a global wealth tax that would rein in the problem. If his proposal were ever to get some traction, we might not be doomed to rejoin the plantation society you so colorfully describe.

Feasible? It's reasonable to doubt whether the 99.9% could ever exert so much influence on an establishment owned lock stock and barrel by the 0.1%.

Speaking of revolution, a few months back Rob brought up the movie "Elysium". Watched it recently, while reading Piketty, and found that it was almost a visual aid to the book. Rob thought it an unreasonable liberal (naturally) fantasy, but I see it as a reasonable visualization of the world at the end of Piketty's extrapolation: By 2100, 0.1% will own 90%, a return to conditions the world last saw in the 18th century.

If you were a member of the aristocracy in that kind of world and you had the means to build an orbiting habitat to get away from the peasants, wouldn't you? Every member of the 0.1% has done so through history, no reason to think that in the future the rich will behave any differently. Gated communities in the sky. Of course they will.