I am not political. It is not my job. But I would be happy if politicians could read my work and draw some conclusions from it.
Interpretation
The author expresses a desire for politicians to engage with his work, even though he does not see himself as a political figure.
In this quote, Thomas Piketty conveys his non-political stance while simultaneously expressing hope that his economic insights could influence politicians' decisions. He recognizes the importance of his work in informing public policy and encourages lawmakers to consider academic research as a valuable resource for governance.
In practice
During a lecture on economic policy, one might quote Piketty to highlight the role of intellectuals in politics.
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.
There are times in politics when you must be on the right side and lose.
The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. I don't think we need to name any names, do we? Our party is encumbered by an inconsistent approach to freedom. The new GOP will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and the personal sphere.
This aesthetic quality, then, is what politics is all about. It's authenticity that separates winners from losers, good politics from bad, and he-man leader-types from consultant-directed puppet-boys.
Social democracy seeks and finds the ways, and particular slogans, of the workers' struggle only in the course of the development of this struggle, and gains directions for the way forward through this struggle alone.
Fascist movements kill off their critics, literally or metaphorically, while democratic movements value, invite and even welcome criticism.
Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together.
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