--- title: "4 Economist Quotes By Thomas Piketty" description: "4 Economist quotes by Thomas Piketty. Plus more from Thomas Piketty and more Economist sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-piketty-3584_distribution_indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too_100388.png" --- > [Indeed, the distribution of wealth is too important an issue to be left to economists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too-important-an-issue-to-be/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-piketty-3584_distribution_indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too_100388.png) > [There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly respected in the academic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an-academic-economist-in-france/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/thomas-piketty-3584_absurd_there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an_130011.jpg) > [For far too long economists have sought to define themselves in terms of their supposedly scientific methods. In fact, those methods rely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought-to-define-themselves-in-terms/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-piketty-3584_economics_for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought_321253.jpg) > [Economists have put themselves in a position where what they are doing is supposed to be impossible to understand for outsiders, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/economists-have-put-themselves-in-a-position-where-what-they-are/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/thomas-piketty-3584_about_economists-have-put-themselves-in-a-posi_876563.jpg) ## Other authors on Economist - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b015/author-kenneth-e-boulding-56467.jpg) Kenneth E. Boulding 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/kenneth-e-boulding/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-kenneth-galbraith-51720.jpg) John Kenneth Galbraith 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/john-kenneth-galbraith/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-paul-krugman-74013.jpg) Paul Krugman 11 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/paul-krugman/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-milton-friedman-68333.jpg) Milton Friedman 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/milton-friedman/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-maynard-keynes-51905.jpg) John Maynard Keynes 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/john-maynard-keynes/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-joan-robinson-50208.jpg) Joan Robinson 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/joan-robinson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-tim-harford-90885.jpg) Tim Harford 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/tim-harford/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-nassim-nicholas-taleb-70256.jpg) Nassim Nicholas Taleb 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-george-stigler-38002.jpg) George Stigler 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/george-stigler/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-thaler-78929.jpg) Richard Thaler 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/richard-thaler/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-muhammad-yunus-69525.jpg) Muhammad Yunus 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/muhammad-yunus/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-michael-hudson-67160.jpg) Michael Hudson 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/michael-hudson/) ## More by Thomas Piketty > [It's not Utopian to believe that we can create a global registry of financial assets so we know who owns what in different countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/it-s-not-utopian-to-believe-that-we-can-create-a-global-registry-of/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“US inequality in 2010 is quantitatively as extreme as in old Europe in the first decade of the twentieth century, but the structure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/us-inequality-in-2010-is-quantitatively-as-extreme-as-in-old-europe/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [Indeed, the distribution of wealth is too important an issue to be left to economists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too-important-an-issue-to-be/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [The United States could transform its property tax system into a progressive tax on net worth without asking permission to the rest of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/the-united-states-could-transform-its-property-tax-system-into-a/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“When it comes to decreasing inequalities of wealth for good or reducing unusually high levels of public debt, a progressive tax on capital is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/when-it-comes-to-decreasing-inequalities-of-wealth-for-good-or/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“In other words, low growth cannot adequately counterbalance the Marxist principle of infinite accumulation: the resulting equilibrium is not as apocalyptic as the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/in-other-words-low-growth-cannot-adequately-counterbalance-the/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“I belong to a generation that came of age listening to news of the collapse of the Communist dicatorships and never felt the slightest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-belong-to-a-generation-that-came-of-age-listening-to-news-of-the/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [When you are an entrepreneur, you have founded your own firm, it is so easy to find that you exist - you are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/when-you-are-an-entrepreneur-you-have-founded-your-own-firm-it-is-so/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly respected in the academic and intellectual world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an-academic-economist-in-france/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [Without precisely defined sources, methods, and concepts, it is possible to see absolutely everything and its opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/without-precisely-defined-sources-methods-and-concepts-it-is-possible/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“the population of the world grew at an average annual rate of barely 0.8 percent between 1700 and 2012.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/the-population-of-the-world-grew-at-an-average-annual-rate-of-barely/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [I'm not as pessimistic as what a number of people seem to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-m-not-as-pessimistic-as-what-a-number-of-people-seem-to-believe/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“The sharp reduction in income inequality that we observe in almost all the rich countries between 1914 and 1945 was due above all to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/the-sharp-reduction-in-income-inequality-that-we-observe-in-almost/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“Progress in medicine together with improved living conditions has therefore, it is argued, totally transformed the very essence of capital.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/progress-in-medicine-together-with-improved-living-conditions-has/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“the decrease in the top marginal income tax rate led to an explosion of very high incomes, which then increased the political influence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/the-decrease-in-the-top-marginal-income-tax-rate-led-to-an-explosion/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/thomas-piketty/#itemlist", "name": "4 Economist Quotes By Thomas Piketty", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Indeed, the distribution of wealth is too important an issue to be left to economists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Piketty" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too-important-an-issue-to-be/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-piketty-3584_distribution_indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too_100388.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-piketty-3584_distribution_indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too_100388.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-piketty-3584_distribution_indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too_100388.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Indeed, the distribution of wealth is too important an issue to be left to economists, sociologists…” — Thomas Piketty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly respected in the academic and intellectual world or by political and financial elites. Hence they must set aside their contempt for other disciplines and their absurd claim to greater scientific legitimacy, despite the fact that they know almost nothing about anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Piketty" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an-academic-economist-in-france/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/thomas-piketty-3584_absurd_there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an_130011.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/thomas-piketty-3584_absurd_there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an_130011.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfa/thomas-piketty-3584_absurd_there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an_130011.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly…” — Thomas Piketty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For far too long economists have sought to define themselves in terms of their supposedly scientific methods. In fact, those methods rely on an immoderate use of mathematical models, which are frequently no more than an excuse for occupying the terrain and masking the vacuity of the content.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Piketty" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought-to-define-themselves-in-terms/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-piketty-3584_economics_for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought_321253.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-piketty-3584_economics_for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought_321253.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-piketty-3584_economics_for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought_321253.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For far too long economists have sought to define themselves in terms of their supposedly scientific…” — Thomas Piketty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Economists have put themselves in a position where what they are doing is supposed to be impossible to understand for outsiders, so they dont even talk - sometimes not even with their girlfriend or boyfriend or friends - about what they are doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Piketty" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/economists-have-put-themselves-in-a-position-where-what-they-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/thomas-piketty-3584_about_economists-have-put-themselves-in-a-posi_876563.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/thomas-piketty-3584_about_economists-have-put-themselves-in-a-posi_876563.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/thomas-piketty-3584_about_economists-have-put-themselves-in-a-posi_876563.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Economists have put themselves in a position where what they are doing is supposed to be impossible to…” — Thomas Piketty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/thomas-piketty/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/thomas-piketty/", "name": "Economist Quotes by Thomas Piketty", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economist/thomas-piketty/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e2f/thomas-piketty-3584_distribution_indeed-the-distribution-of-wealth-is-too_100388.png" }, "description": "4 Economist quotes by Thomas Piketty. 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