We want capitalism and market forces to be the slave of democracy rather than the opposite.

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.

I loved American universities. In many ways, they are better organized - certainly than French universities.

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.

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.

No hypocrisy is too great when economic and financial elites are obliged to defend their interest.

Over a long period of time, the main force in favor of greater equality has been the diffusion of knowledge and skills.