Thomas Piketty
Thomas Piketty
Thomas Pikettyis a French economist who works on wealth and income inequality. He is a professorat the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, associate chair at the Paris School of Economics and Centennial professor at the London School of Economics new International Inequalities Institute...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth7 May 1971
CountryFrance
aware broader economists history methods modest political pragmatic science social study
Economists should be modest and be aware that they are part of the broader social science community. We need to be pragmatic about the methods we use. When we need to do history, we should do history. When we need to study political science, we should study political science.
apparatus closer instead methods models pragmatic pretending pushing scientific using
What I'm pushing for is an economic discipline that will be closer to other social sciences; in particular, we should be more pragmatic about the methods that we are using instead of pretending that we have our own scientific apparatus with very sophisticated mathematic models that distinguish us from sociologists and historians.
born clearly defend eastern empty europe internal regime shops system travelling
I was born too late to have any temptation with communism, or at least Soviet-type communism. Travelling in Eastern Europe and the ex-Soviet Union, you clearly don't want to defend a system that would have empty shops and a totalitarian regime and internal passports.
advance full history impressed taxation terribly time
I think if you look back through time, the history of income, wealth and taxation is full of surprise. So I am not terribly impressed by those who know in advance what will or will not happen.
access broader concentration extreme increase large reduce top
One way to have broader access to wealth is to reduce the tax on the large group and increase the tax on the very top so concentration of wealth doesn't get to extreme levels.
country inherited invented
The U.S. is the country that invented progressive taxation of income and of inherited wealth in the 1910s and '20s.
future predict pretend rate
I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the growth rate or rate of return.
'Das Kapital,' I think, is very difficult to read, and for me, it was not very influential.
freedom good market personal private promote property system
Private property and the market system are good not only to promote innovation and to promote growth; private property and the market system are good for our personal freedom.
common compatible concentration democratic ensure forces good levels limit market sufficient themselves
Market forces and capitalism by themselves aren't sufficient to ensure the common good and to limit the concentration of wealth at levels that are compatible with democratic ideals.
argue based private
What I argue for is a progressive tax, a global tax, based on the taxation of private property.
maybe people war
I don't live in the Cold War. Some people maybe still live in the Cold War, but this is their problem, not mine.
believe power time
I believe in the power of ideas, I believe in the power of books, but you have to give them time.
education favor time
Yeah, I am in favor of migration. But I am also in favor of education. But at the same time, I am in favor of progressive taxation. I think we need all of this. I think we don't have to choose one.