Thomas Sowell ( 10 of 95 )
Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing read more
Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what has worked with what sounded good. In area after area- crime, education, housing, race relations- the situation has gotten worse after the bright new theories were put into operation. The amazing thing is that this history of failure and disaster has neither discouraged the social engineers nor discredited them.
Nothing as mundane as mere evidence can be allowed to threaten a vision so deeply satisfying.
Nothing as mundane as mere evidence can be allowed to threaten a vision so deeply satisfying.
To include freedom in the very definition of democracy is to define a process not by its actual characteristics as read more
To include freedom in the very definition of democracy is to define a process not by its actual characteristics as a process but by its hoped for results. This is not only intellectually invalid, it is, in practical terms, blinding oneself in advance to some of the unwanted consequences of the process.
"What freedom does a starving man have?" The answer is that starvation is a tragic human condition- perhaps more tragic read more
"What freedom does a starving man have?" The answer is that starvation is a tragic human condition- perhaps more tragic than loss of freedom. That does not prevent these from being two different things.
Morality, like other inputs into the social process, follows the law of diminishing returns- meaning ultimately, negative returns. People can read more
Morality, like other inputs into the social process, follows the law of diminishing returns- meaning ultimately, negative returns. People can be too moral.
Any politician who starts shouting election-year demagoguery about the rich and the poor should be asked, "What about the other read more
Any politician who starts shouting election-year demagoguery about the rich and the poor should be asked, "What about the other 90 percent of the people?"
Organizational progress parallels that in science and technology, permitting ultimate simplicity through intermediate complexity.
Organizational progress parallels that in science and technology, permitting ultimate simplicity through intermediate complexity.
No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: "But what would read more
No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: "But what would you replace it with?" When you put out a fire, what do you replace it with?
Liberals seem to assume that, if you don't believe in their particular political solutions, then you don't really care about read more
Liberals seem to assume that, if you don't believe in their particular political solutions, then you don't really care about the people that they claim to want to help
With various people complaining about "price gouging... economist Walter Williams has coined a new term: "Tax gouging." But government is read more
With various people complaining about "price gouging... economist Walter Williams has coined a new term: "Tax gouging." But government is never accused of either "greed" or "gouging" — not even when they bulldoze people's homes in order to turn the land over to businesses that will pay more taxes.
