--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sharp reduction in income inequality…" description: "\"“The sharp reduction in income inequality that we observe in almost all the rich countries between 1914 and 1945 was due above all to the world wars an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/thomas-piketty-3584_income-inequality_the-sharp-reduction-in-income-inequality_208559.jpg" --- # The sharp reduction in income inequality that we observe… ![“The sharp reduction in income inequality that we observe in almost all the rich countries between 1914 and 1945 was due above all to the world wars and the violent economic and political shocks they entailed (especially for people with large fortunes). It had little to do with the tranquil process…” quote by Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/thomas-piketty-3584_income-inequality_the-sharp-reduction-in-income-inequality_208559.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/thomas-piketty-3584_income-inequality_the-sharp-reduction-in-income-inequality_208559.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/563/thomas-piketty-3584_income-inequality_the-sharp-reduction-in-income-inequality_208559.jpg) > ““The sharp reduction in income inequality that we observe in almost all the rich countries between 1914 and 1945 was due above all to the world wars and the violent economic and political shocks they entailed (especially for people with large fortunes). It had little to do with the tranquil process of intersectoral mobility described by Kuznets.”” [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. World wars and shocks, reduced inequality more than peaceful economic shifts. **In simple terms:** War caused inequality decline. Key Takeaway Consider how crises reshape economies. Themes economics history inequality Mood thoughtful analytical Type theoretical historical When to use this quote - policy analysis - historical study - economic forecasting Key Concepts Kuznets curve war impact wealth redistribution Questions to Reflect On - What policies can mimic shock effects without conflict? - How do we balance growth and equality? A Different Perspective Peaceful reforms also matter but are less dramatic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Described Kuznets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/described-kuznets-2158451/) [Income inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-inequality/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Kuznets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kuznets-2158450/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Rich countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-countries/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“For far too long, economists have neglected the distribution of wealth, partly because of Kuznets’s optimistic conclusions and partly because of the profession’s undue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/for-far-too-long-economists-have-neglected-the-distribution-of-wealth/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [“The inventor of GDP cautioned against including in its calculation expenditure for the military, advertising, and the financial sector,33 but his advice fell on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-inventor-of-gdp-cautioned-against-including-in-its-calculation/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [There is an old belief that solving environmental problems can only be achieved by first building enough economic wealth so we can 'afford to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-rockstrom/there-is-an-old-belief-that-solving-environmental-problems-can-only/) [Johan Rockstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-rockstrom/) > [“In no country does the average income give the right picture of how people live but in a country with higher inequality it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-joon-chang/in-no-country-does-the-average-income-give-the-right-picture-of-how/) [Ha-Joon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-joon-chang/) > [There is a considerable polarization taking place here, increasing the gap between rich and poor. It's most dramatic in Third World countries, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-is-a-considerable-polarization-taking-place-here-increasing-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't support everything Bernie Sanders supports, but I support most of it: universal health care, reining in Wall Street, fighting climate change, reversing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/i-don-t-support-everything-bernie-sanders-supports-but-i-support-most/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) > [Talking about income inequality, even if you're not on the Forbes 400 list, can make us feel uncomfortable. It feels less positive, less optimistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/talking-about-income-inequality-even-if-you-re-not-on-the-forbes-400/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [A holistic solution to income inequality is going to take a lot of work, but every time you prove that one of the strands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-de-blasio/a-holistic-solution-to-income-inequality-is-going-to-take-a-lot-of/) [Bill de Blasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-de-blasio/) > [We ought to be opening up our borders to skilled labour from all parts of the world because \[the state of the world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/we-ought-to-be-opening-up-our-borders-to-skilled-labour-from-all/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [There are two economic realities in America in 2016. There's been a record six straight years of job growth, and new census numbers show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/there-are-two-economic-realities-in-america-in-2016-there-s-been-a/) [Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/) > [I think that on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality and poverty alleviation, and those issues are so important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-think-that-on-the-democratic-side-bernie-sanders-talks-about-income/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [Income inequality has gotten worse under President Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/income-inequality-has-gotten-worse-under-president-barack-obama/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [ Skilled shortages in America exist because we are shielding our skilled labor force from world competition. \[Visa quotas\] have been substituted for the wage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/skilled-shortages-in-america-exist-because-we-are-shielding-our/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I don't know another way to try to deal with income inequality than actually having entrepreneurs and inventors creating the kind of jobs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/i-don-t-know-another-way-to-try-to-deal-with-income-inequality-than/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [Income inequality isn't sexy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-c-pelosi/income-inequality-isn-t-sexy/) [Alexandra C. Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-c-pelosi/) ## 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/) > [“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/) > [I am afraid that if you don't find peaceful domestic solutions to our inequality and social problems, then it's always tempting to find other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/i-am-afraid-that-if-you-don-t-find-peaceful-domestic-solutions-to-our/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) [Explore all 124 Thomas Piketty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) ## More Income inequality quotes > [Income inequality isn't sexy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-c-pelosi/income-inequality-isn-t-sexy/) [Alexandra C. Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-c-pelosi/) > [I don't know another way to try to deal with income inequality than actually having entrepreneurs and inventors creating the kind of jobs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/i-don-t-know-another-way-to-try-to-deal-with-income-inequality-than/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [ Skilled shortages in America exist because we are shielding our skilled labor force from world competition. \[Visa quotas\] have been substituted for the wage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/skilled-shortages-in-america-exist-because-we-are-shielding-our/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Income inequality has gotten worse under President Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/income-inequality-has-gotten-worse-under-president-barack-obama/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [I think that on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality and poverty alleviation, and those issues are so important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-think-that-on-the-democratic-side-bernie-sanders-talks-about-income/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [There are two economic realities in America in 2016. There's been a record six straight years of job growth, and new census numbers show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-holt/there-are-two-economic-realities-in-america-in-2016-there-s-been-a/) [Lester Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-holt/) > [“learned two things from the students. One was that they disliked identity politics. They thought that Hillary spent too much time trying to appeal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/learned-two-things-from-the-students-one-was-that-they-disliked/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [We ought to be opening up our borders to skilled labour from all parts of the world because \[the state of the world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/we-ought-to-be-opening-up-our-borders-to-skilled-labour-from-all/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [A holistic solution to income inequality is going to take a lot of work, but every time you prove that one of the strands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-de-blasio/a-holistic-solution-to-income-inequality-is-going-to-take-a-lot-of/) [Bill de Blasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-de-blasio/) > [Talking about income inequality, even if you're not on the Forbes 400 list, can make us feel uncomfortable. It feels less positive, less optimistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/talking-about-income-inequality-even-if-you-re-not-on-the-forbes-400/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [I don't support everything Bernie Sanders supports, but I support most of it: universal health care, reining in Wall Street, fighting climate change, reversing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/i-don-t-support-everything-bernie-sanders-supports-but-i-support-most/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) > [I've been talking about income inequality in America for twenty years, and when I was president, people didn't pay much attention to it, probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-ve-been-talking-about-income-inequality-in-america-for-twenty-years/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [“Recently, the International Monetary Fund published a report which revealed that too much inequality even inhibits economic growth.22 Perhaps the most fascinating finding, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/recently-the-international-monetary-fund-published-a-report-which/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Let us wage a moral and political war against the gross wealth and income inequality... ...let us understand that when we stand together, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/let-us-wage-a-moral-and-political-war-against-the-gross-wealth-and/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [President Obama believes that income inequality is one of the most pressing matters facing the nation. If we are going to be a country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/president-obama-believes-that-income-inequality-is-one-of-the-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 131 Income inequality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-inequality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The sharp reduction in income inequality that we observe in almost all the rich countries between 1914 and 1945 was due above all to the world wars and the violent economic and political shocks they entailed (especially for people with large fortunes). 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