Director Justin Pemberton's documentary is an adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's bestselling 2013 book, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century." By drawing connections between the French Revolution, the fall of communism, and contemporary economic inequality, it spans 200 years of global economic history (made accessible via juxtaposition with copious pop culture references) and strives debunk the common assumption that capital accumulation is the handmaiden of social progress.