Economists have put themselves in a position where what they are doing is supposed to be impossible to understand for outsiders, so they don't even talk - sometimes not even with their girlfriend or boyfriend or friends - about what they are doing.
Interpretation
Economists often make their work complex and inaccessible, leading to a disconnect with the general public and even their personal relationships.
In this quote, Thomas Piketty reflects on the tendency of economists to create a barrier between their work and the understanding of outsiders. This complexity not only isolates them in their professional circles but also hinders meaningful communication with family and friends, suggesting that the language of economics can be so intricate that it becomes a challenge for even close relationships to engage in discussions about it.
In practice
Discussing this quote during a lecture on economic theories to highlight accessibility in education.
Contrary to a tenacious myth, France is not owned by California pension funds or the Bank of China, any more than the United States belongs to Japanese and German investors. The fear of getting into such a predicament is so strong today that fantasy often outstrips reality. The reality is that inequality with respect to capital is a far greater domestic issue than it is an international one.
The main force pushing toward reduction in inequality has always been the diffusion of knowledge and the diffusion of education.
Over a long period of time, the main force in favor of greater equality has been the diffusion of knowledge and skills.
There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly respected in the academic and intellectual world or by political and financial elites. Hence they must set aside their contempt for other disciplines and their absurd claim to greater scientific legitimacy, despite the fact that they know almost nothing about anything.
When the rate of return on capital exceeds the rate of growth of output and income, as it did in the nineteenth century and seems quite likely to do again in the twenty-first, capitalism automatically generates arbitrary and unsustainable inequalities that radically undermine the meritocratic values on which democratic societies are based.
Having a decent share of the national wealth for the middle class is not bad for growth. It is actually useful both for equity and efficiency reasons.
If you're teaching today what you were teaching five years ago, either the field is dead or you are.
Human resources are like natural resources; they're often buried deep You have to go looking for them; they're not just lying around on the surface You have to create the circumstances where they show themselves.
Education is a slow moving but powerful force
No teaching could be more direct than just to sit down.
Giving every child a chance to reach their full potential is the best work anyone can do
Education is the development of power and ideal.
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