Thomas Piketty Quotes & Sayings

“You need some inequality to grow... but extreme inequality is not only useless but can be harmful to growth because it reduces mobility and can lead to political capture of our democratic institutions.”

“The main force pushing toward reduction in inequality has always been the diffusion of knowledge and the diffusion of education.”

“I believe in the power of ideas, I believe in the power of books, but you have to give them time.”

“I don't live in the Cold War. Some people maybe still live in the Cold War, but this is their problem, not mine.”

“I think inequality is fine, as long as it is in the common interest. The problem is when it gets so extreme, when it becomes excessive.”

“My premise is not to tax to destroy the wealth of the wealthy; it's to increase the wealth of the bottom and the middle class.”

“Once constituted, capital reproduces itself faster than output increases. The past devours the future.”

“The United States could transform its property tax system into a progressive tax on net worth without asking permission to the rest of the world.”

“There is a fundamentalist belief by capitalists that capital will save the world, and it just isn't so.”

“What I argue for is a progressive tax, a global tax, based on the taxation of private property.”