---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I'm pushing for is an economic…"
description: "\"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 metho..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png"
---

#  What I'm pushing for is an economic discipline that will…

![“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…” quote by Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png)

> “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.”

[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.

Economics should adopt pragmatic, interdisciplinary methods like other social sciences, abandoning pretentious, overly complex models that claim exclusivity.

**In simple terms:** Use practical, interdisciplinary methods in economics.

Key Takeaway

Adopt pragmatic interdisciplinary economics.

Themes

economics methodology interdisciplinarity

Mood

analytical optimistic

Type

lecture policy discussion

When to use this quote

- academic research
- public policy
- education reform
- collaborative projects

Key Concepts

scientific rigor policy relevance

Questions to Reflect On

- How can economics become more pragmatic?
- What interdisciplinary tools can improve economic analysis?

A Different Perspective

Complex models can still be useful.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Apparatus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apparatus/) [Closer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closer/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Distinguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinguish/) [Distinguish Sociologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinguish-sociologists-4287026/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-discipline-4287023/) [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead/) [Methods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/methods/) [Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/models/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/own/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Pragmatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatic/) [Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending/) [Pretending Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending-scientific-4287025/) [Pushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing/) [Pushing Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing-economic-4287024/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences/) [Scientific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social sciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-sciences/) [Sociologists Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociologists-historians-708707/) [Sophisticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophisticated/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Using](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/)

## Related quotes

> [So now we are pushing economic reform, bank reform and enterprise reform. So we can finish that reform this year, in September or October.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-now-we-are-pushing-economic-reform-bank-reform-and-enterprise/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The quarrel of the sociologists with the historians is that the latter have learned so much about how to do it that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-quarrel-of-the-sociologists-with-the-historians-is-that-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Futurism today is led by science-fiction writers, by sociologists, by historians. Now, I have nothing against them. I'm sure they do great work. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/futurism-today-is-led-by-science-fiction-writers-by-sociologists-by/)

[Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/)

> [Sociologists and historians have avoided looking for the family sources of wars and social violence. Whenever a group produces murderers, the early parental relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-demause/sociologists-and-historians-have-avoided-looking-for-the-family/)

[Lloyd deMause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-demause/)

> [He has a very extensive public relations apparatus that is paid for by the taxpayers of this state. They are some of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-scott/he-has-a-very-extensive-public-relations-apparatus-that-is-paid-for/)

[Bill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-scott/)

> [What is a television apparatus to man, who has only to shut his eyes to see the most inaccessible regions of the seen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/what-is-a-television-apparatus-to-man-who-has-only-to-shut-his-eyes/)

[Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/)

> [It must be admitted that science has its castes. The man whose chief apparatus is the differential equation looks down upon one who uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-newton-lewis/it-must-be-admitted-that-science-has-its-castes-the-man-whose-chief/)

[Gilbert Newton Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-newton-lewis/)

> [I think it would be bad for culture and the art if artists and people who develop the apparatus to support those artists don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyor-cohen/i-think-it-would-be-bad-for-culture-and-the-art-if-artists-and-people/)

[Lyor Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyor-cohen/)

> [Christianity, with or without its whole apparatus of dogma, will endure in its essence for thousands of years after us; there will always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjornstjerne-bjornson/christianity-with-or-without-its-whole-apparatus-of-dogma-will-endure/)

[Bjornstjerne Bjornson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjornstjerne-bjornson/)

> [You don't need the iPhone: you have the most exquisite apparatus in the known universe sitting right in your head - the most complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/you-don-t-need-the-iphone-you-have-the-most-exquisite-apparatus-in/)

[Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/)

> [There is another common misapprehension that the magnitude scale is itself some kind of instrument or apparatus. Visitors will frequently ask to 'see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-francis-richter/there-is-another-common-misapprehension-that-the-magnitude-scale-is/)

[Charles Francis Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-francis-richter/)

> [The United States are ruled by a financial, media-centered, military-industrial apparatus. Behind Obama's grin, he orders bombings. He just displays a different image than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-maduro/the-united-states-are-ruled-by-a-financial-media-centered-military/)

[Nicolas Maduro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-maduro/)

> [There's a tremendous amount of work building the apparatus, getting the experiment to work. But sitting there late at night in the lab, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-tremendous-amount-of-work-building-the-apparatus-getting/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Our experiments not only proved the existence of a nervous apparatus in the above-mentioned glands, but also disclosed some facts clearly showing the participation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-pavlov/our-experiments-not-only-proved-the-existence-of-a-nervous-apparatus/)

[Ivan Pavlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-pavlov/)

> [Seventy years ago this November, Vladimir Lenin created the modern totalitarian state, transforming simpler forms of tyranny into history's most sophisticated apparatus of rule…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-johns/seventy-years-ago-this-november-vladimir-lenin-created-the-modern/)

[Michael Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-johns/)

## 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 About quotes

> [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/)

[Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/)

> [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/)

[Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/)

> [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/)

[Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/)

> [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/)

[Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/)

> [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/)

[Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/)

> [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/)

[Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/)

> [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/)

[Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/)

> [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/)

[Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/)

> [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/)

[Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/)

> [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/)

[Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/)

> [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/)

[Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/)

> [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/)

[John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/)

> [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/)

[Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/)

[Browse all 26,122 About quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "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.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Piketty"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-discipline-that-will-be-closer-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "About"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-discipline-that-will-be-closer-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/971/thomas-piketty-3584_about_what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-disc_1303170.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What I'm pushing for is an economic discipline that will be closer to other social sciences; in particular…” — 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": "What I'm pushing for is an...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-discipline-that-will-be-closer-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-discipline-that-will-be-closer-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
