Thomas Piketty Quotes

Nobody is poor unless he stand in need of justice.

In a world of increasing inequality, the legitimacy of institutions that give precedence to the property rights of 'the Haves' over the human rights of 'the Have Nots' is inevitably called into serious question.

The white man knows how to make everything, but he does not know how to distribute it.

The fallacy in the progressive critique is the egalitarian dogma that no one should get more than what liberals deem is a 'fair' reward, nor should there be any risk to anyone to fail.

I didn't believe one man should have so much services and another man should have none.

A meritocracy increases inequality --- by its very nature, it has to.

We can have a democracy or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.

You can make too much of inequality because there is always so much of it.

To be concerned about inequality is not engaging in class warfare.

The possession of wealth does not confer upon the wealthy the right to take advantage of the less fortunate.

We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained.

Liberty is impossible if 36 thousand families at the top of the economic pyramid get as much income as 12 million families at the bottom.

No man should be made poor so another man can be made rich.

Some people say we have this inequality because some people have been contributing much more to our society, and so it's fair that they get more. But then you look at the people who are at the top, and you realize they're not the people who have transformed our economy, our society.

If the power was equitable, then our boards, then our commissions, our contracting, our wealth-building opportunities would all look very different.

The laws are stacked for the wealthy.

Unrestrained liberalism only makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker and excludes the most excluded.

I don't think we live in a particularly equal society.

The rich don't exploit the poor. They just out-compete them.

Colour is not the issue in America; class is.

It is hard to interest those who have everything in those who have nothing.

I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil.

Economic issues are a subset of social justice. Social justice is unimaginable without economic justice. Isn't that obvious?

At the end of the day, we have an economy that works for the rich by cheating the poor, and unequal schools are the result of that, not the cause.

Class structures are a luxury that we cannot afford.