FT dropped a bombshell Friday afternoon with allegations that economist Thomas Piketty, author of the bestselling "Capitalism in the 21st Century," contains a number of serious data errors -- enough, it claims, to invalidate his thesis on rising wealth inequality.
While many are questioning FT's claims, some conservatives are having a field day. And a select few, apparently caught up in the headiness of the moment, are making this wrongheaded, inexplicable leap: that if Piketty was wrong (perhaps intentionally) about wealth inequality, that somehow makes it easier to believe that the world's top climate scientists, and over 40 years of climate research, are wrong about global warming, too.
Behold the lunacy:
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At least one well-done parody's already joined the mix, as well:
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The jury's still out on Piketty -- even those critical of him question the significance of FT's claims. As to climate change, however, scientists are more certain than ever that a) it's happening, b) we're already feeling its effects and c) human activity's to blame. Attempting to argue that one "liberal hoax" begets another makes climate deniers seem even more willfully ignorant than usual.
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