--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't pretend that I can predict the…" description: "\"I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the growth rate or rate of return.\" — Thomas Piketty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png" --- # I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the… ![“I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the growth rate or rate of return.” quote by Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png) > “I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the growth rate or rate of return.” [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits he cannot forecast future growth rates or returns, acknowledging limits of economic prediction. **In simple terms:** He cannot predict future economic growth. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in economic forecasts. Themes economics uncertainty forecasting Mood cautious analytical Type economic philosophical When to use this quote - financial planning - policy making - academic research Key Concepts growth rates investment returns economic modeling Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle uncertainty? - What alternative methods improve decisions? A Different Perspective Predictions can be misleading; overreliance may cause errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) ## Related quotes > [Creating organizations that value a growth mindset can create contexts in which more people grow into the knowledgeable, visionary, and responsible leaders we need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-s-dweck/creating-organizations-that-value-a-growth-mindset-can-create/) [Carol S. Dweck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-s-dweck/) > [“α = r × β where r is the rate of return on capital. 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In commerce bygones are forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stanley-jevons/labour-once-spent-has-no-influence-on-the-future-value-of-any-article/) [William Stanley Jevons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stanley-jevons/) > [“The present value of your presence to your loved ones in need is higher than the future value of your promises.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/the-present-value-of-your-presence-to-your-loved-ones-in-need-is/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [“Advantage lies in a capacity to predict the future before your rivals can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/advantage-lies-in-a-capacity-to-predict-the-future-before-your-rivals/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [“Today we aren’t quite to the place that H. G. Wells predicted years ago, but society is getting closer out of necessity. Global businesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-we-aren-t-quite-to-the-place-that-h-g-wells-predicted-years-ago/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one can predict the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-emerick-aubameyang/no-one-can-predict-the-future/) [Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-emerick-aubameyang/) > [I've never been able to predict the future of anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-edwards/i-ve-never-been-able-to-predict-the-future-of-anything/) [Bob Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-edwards/) > [“The past doesn't predict your future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-styba/the-past-doesn-t-predict-your-future/) Courtney Styba > [“If you can predict the future, you can change the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-you-can-predict-the-future-you-can-change-the-past/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [It is hard to predict the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-williamson/it-is-hard-to-predict-the-future/) [Kane Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-williamson/) > [Who knows how things will be years from now? Only time will tell. No need to try & predict the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-knows-how-things-will-be-years-from-now-only-time-will-tell-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody can predict the future; the idea is to have a firm grasp of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nobody-can-predict-the-future-the-idea-is-to-have-a-firm-grasp-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [People who try to predict the future by extrapolating in a line of more of what exists - they are always wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/people-who-try-to-predict-the-future-by-extrapolating-in-a-line-of/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) ## 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/) [Explore all 124 Thomas Piketty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the growth rate or rate of return.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Piketty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-future-value-of-the-growth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-future-value-of-the-growth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/thomas-piketty-3584_future_i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-f_1293919.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't pretend that I can predict the future value of the growth rate or rate of return.” — Thomas Piketty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Piketty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't pretend that I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-future-value-of-the-growth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-don-t-pretend-that-i-can-predict-the-future-value-of-the-growth/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```