Over a long period of time, the main force in favor of greater equality has been the diffusion of knowledge and skills.
Interpretation
The spread of knowledge and skills promotes equality over time.
Thomas Piketty's quote emphasizes that throughout history, the key factor driving greater equality in society has been the widespread dissemination of knowledge and skills. As more individuals gain access to education and opportunities to develop their abilities, the gap between different socioeconomic groups narrows, paving the way for a more equitable society.
In practice
In a speech about social reform, one might say, 'As Thomas Piketty points out, the diffusion of knowledge and skills is crucial for achieving greater equality.'
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.
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.
The discipline of economics has yet to get over its childish passion for mathematics and for purely theoretical and often highly ideological speculation, at the expense of historical research and collaboration with the other social sciences.
Every society needs educated people, but the primary responsibility of educated people is to bring wisdom back into the community and make it available to others so that the lives they are leading make sense.
They teach in academies far too many things, and far too much that is useless.
Most areas of intellectual life have discovered the virtues of speculation, and have embraced them wildly. In academia, speculation is usually dignified as theory.
I convinced myself economic empowerment of women was going to be key, especially in a country like this where most women didn't go to school.
There is no education like adversity.
Keep your hands moving. Writing is rewriting.
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