French economist Thomas Piketty delivered the 13th annual Nelson Mandela lecture at the University of Johannesburg's Soweto campus yesterday. Dubbed the "rock star economist" of the decade, the 44-year-old has had worldwide attention since his seminal tome, Capital in the 21st Century, became a bestseller.Yet for the majority of South Africans, the conclusion of the 700-page book, that the world is unequal and will likely remain so, is hardly news.UJ economics professor Fiona Tregenna said: "What he's done is an in-depth, empirical study ... of the roots of inequality and its threats. He's come with something of substance. He's [put] inequality on the agenda."An estimated 60% of South Africa's wealth is concentrated in 10% of the population - Tregenna said visiting academics are often astounded at how South Africans could regard this as "normal".Piketty's lectureoffered a reality check and a fix.He believes in radical government intervention."The elite have a lot of imagination to justify their position," he told a 2000-strong crowd at the campus .story_article_left1Piketty affirmed his position that a minimum wage would be a significant move towards addressing inequality. But it would not necessarily pave the way to well-paying jobs, as access to higher-quality education was essential.Despite misgivings in some sectors about the government's ability to deliver, opting for further privatisation of education, Piketty saw no option other than public education.He also called for greater worker participation and representation on company boards, with this form of governance yielding fruitful results in Germany and France. He also suggested a wealth tax, which would offer a clearer indication of who owned what in South Africa.Piketty said the continent did not need foreign aid, but rather it had to rein in Western multi-nationals that paid tax offshore."It's very difficult to organise a society where thousands of people just want to decide how much they want to contribute," he said.Earlier this week, giving an address at UJ's Kingsway campus, Piketty said: "It's fine to have rich and poor people, as long as people rise at the same time. It would be a mistake to leave it to market forces."..