Thomas Sowell ( 10 of 95 )
Given that some social processes must convey inherent constraints, the choice is among various mixtures of persuasion, force, and cultural read more
Given that some social processes must convey inherent constraints, the choice is among various mixtures of persuasion, force, and cultural inducement. The less of one, the more of the others. The degree of freedom that is possible is therefore tied to the extent to which people respond to persuasion or inducement.
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.The read more
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it.The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.
The most basic question is not what is best but who shall decide what is best.
The most basic question is not what is best but who shall decide what is best.
Education is not merely neglected in many of our schools today, but is replaced to a great extent by ideological read more
Education is not merely neglected in many of our schools today, but is replaced to a great extent by ideological indoctrination.
One of the consequences of such notions as "entitlements" is that people who have contributed nothing to society feel that read more
One of the consequences of such notions as "entitlements" is that people who have contributed nothing to society feel that society owes them something, apparently just for being nice enough to grace us with their presence.
Ideas, as the raw material from which knowledge is produced, exist in superabundance, but that makes the production of knowledge read more
Ideas, as the raw material from which knowledge is produced, exist in superabundance, but that makes the production of knowledge more difficult rather than easier. Many ideas- probably most- will have to be discarded somewhere in the process of producing authenticated knowledge. Authentication is as important as the raw information itself, and the manner and speed of the authentication process can be crucial...
What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying read more
What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long.
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. read more
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.
Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only read more
Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only the ideas of an Edison or a Ford but the ideas of innumerable anonymous people who figure out the design of supermarkets, the location of gasoline stations, and the million mundane things on which our material well-being depends. Societies which have more people carrying out physical acts and fewer people supplying ideas do not have higher standards of living. Quite the contrary.
