--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Other things being equal, strong…" description: "\"“Other things being equal, strong demographic growth tends to play an equalizing role because it decreases the importance of inherited wealth: every ge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/thomas-piketty-3584_generation_other-things-being-equal-strong-demograp_3205570.png" --- # Other things being equal, strong demographic growth tends… ![“Other things being equal, strong demographic growth tends to play an equalizing role because it decreases the importance of inherited wealth: every generation must in some sense construct itself.” quote by Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/thomas-piketty-3584_generation_other-things-being-equal-strong-demograp_3205570.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/thomas-piketty-3584_generation_other-things-being-equal-strong-demograp_3205570.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/thomas-piketty-3584_generation_other-things-being-equal-strong-demograp_3205570.png) > ““Other things being equal, strong demographic growth tends to play an equalizing role because it decreases the importance of inherited wealth: every generation must in some sense construct itself.”” [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. Rapid population growth reduces the weight of inherited wealth, forcing each generation to build its own economic base. **In simple terms:** More people means less reliance on family riches. Key Takeaway Focus on creating value rather than counting on inheritance. Themes economics inequality generational mobility Mood analytical thoughtful Type economic sociological When to use this quote - policy design - family financial planning - education investment Key Concepts wealth distribution demographic dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does demographic change affect wealth gaps? - What policies can support fair opportunity? A Different Perspective Rapid growth can strain resources and infrastructure, limiting upward mobility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Inherited wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inherited-wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“countries with similar growth rates of income per capita can end up with very different capital/income ratios simply because their demographic growth rates are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/countries-with-similar-growth-rates-of-income-per-capita-can-end-up/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“the average demographic growth rate between 0 and 1700 was less than 0.2 percent and almost certainly less than 0.1 percent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-average-demographic-growth-rate-between-0-and-1700-was-less-than/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The U.S. is the country that invented progressive taxation of income and of inherited wealth in the 1910s and '20s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/the-u-s-is-the-country-that-invented-progressive-taxation-of-income/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“When the rate of return on capital significantly exceeds the growth rate of the economy (as it did through much of history until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/when-the-rate-of-return-on-capital-significantly-exceeds-the-growth/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“There is inherited wealth in this country and also inherited poverty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-is-inherited-wealth-in-this-country-and-also-inherited-poverty/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-stanley/multiply-your-age-times-your-realized-pretax-annual-household-income/) [Thomas J. Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-stanley/) > [...scientific power is like inherited wealth: attained without discipline. You read what others have done, and you take the next step. 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But there likewise exists a true aristocracy based on intelligence, talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-exists-a-false-aristocracy-based-on-family-name-property-and/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Instead of promoting inherited wealth for the few, I want to tackle inherited disadvantage for the many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-kendall/instead-of-promoting-inherited-wealth-for-the-few-i-want-to-tackle/) [Liz Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-kendall/) > [“Inherited wealth may be easily squandered, but inherited poverty is a legacy almost impossible to loose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-haney/inherited-wealth-may-be-easily-squandered-but-inherited-poverty-is-a/) Eric Haney > [I know of a few multimillionaires who started trading with inherited wealth. In each case, they lost it all because they didn't feel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eckhardt/i-know-of-a-few-multimillionaires-who-started-trading-with-inherited/) [William Eckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eckhardt/) ## 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 - 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He just doesn't want to get married again; it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanie-buss/phil-is-of-a-generation-that-probably-would-have-been-happier-never/) [Jeanie Buss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanie-buss/) > [In the long period of time when I did talk shows and game shows, a whole new generation of people came along who thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/in-the-long-period-of-time-when-i-did-talk-shows-and-game-shows-a/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [If we turn our backs on the remaining industries and not reinvest in these places and just say 'You're on your own,' we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/if-we-turn-our-backs-on-the-remaining-industries-and-not-reinvest-in/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [I liked the generation of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, who I admired. 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