Thomas Sowell Quotes - Page 20

Quotes about:

• As far as party primaries are concerned, both Republican - and Democratic - Party primaries are dominated by the most zealous voters, whose views may not reflect the views of most members of
  their own respective parties, much less the views of those who are going to vote in the November general election.

  Thomas Sowell

  Party, Views, Zealous

  "Bipartisan Primary Blues". www.nationalreview.com. March 25, 2008.

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• You need to be empathetic in your own personal life and we help our neighbors and our friends out who are struggling in our neighborhoods. But we don't make bad decisions based on empathy.

  Thomas Sowell

  Struggle, Empathy, Decision

  Source: www.foxnews.com

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• In the wake of the housing debacle in California, more people are buying less expensive homes, making bigger down payments, and staying away from 'creative' and risky financing. It is amazing how fast people learn when they are not insulated from the consequences of their decisions.

  Thomas Sowell

  Home, California, People

  Thomas Sowell (2011). “Dismantling America and Other Controversial Essays (Large Print 16pt)”, p.30, ReadHowYouWant.com

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• One of the painfully sobering realizations that come from reading history is the utter incompetence that is possible among leaders of whole nations and empires - and the blind faith that such leaders can nevertheless inspire among the people who are enthralled by their words or their posturing.

  Thomas Sowell

  Reading, People, Leader

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• Clearly, only very unequal intellectual and moral standing could justify having equality imposed, whether the people want it or not, as Dworkin suggests, and only very unequal power would make it possible.

  Thomas Sowell

  People, Intellectual, Want

  Thomas Sowell (2007). “A Conflict of Visions: Idealogical Origins of Political Struggles”, p.55, Basic Books

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• What then is the intellectual advantage of civilization over primitive savagery? It is not necessarily that each civilized man has more knowledge but that he requires far less.

  Thomas Sowell

  Men, Civilization, Intellectual

  Thomas Sowell (1996). “Knowledge And Decisions”, p.7, Basic Books

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• Someone once defined a social problem as a situation in which the real world differs from the theories of intellectuals. To the intelligentsia, it follows, as the night follows the day, that it is the real world that is wrong and which needs to change.

  Thomas Sowell

  Real, Night, Needs

  Thomas Sowell (2013). “Ever Wonder Why?: and Other Controversial Essays”, p.213, Hoover Press

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• If one writing contributed more than any other to the framework in which this work Sowell's Knowledge and Decisions developed, it would be an essay entitled 'The Use of Knowledge in Society,' published in the American Economic Review of September 1945, and written by F. A. Hayek . . In this plain and apparently simple essay was a deeply penetrating insight into the way societies function and malfunction, and clues as to why they are so often and so profoundly misunderstood.

  Thomas Sowell

  Writing, Simple, Decision

  "Knowledge and Decisions". Book by Thomas Sowell, 1980.

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• What all these lofty and vague phrases boil down to is that the court can impose things that the voters don't want and the Constitution does not require, but which are in vogue in circles to which the court responds.

  Thomas Sowell

  Circles, Doe, Phrases

  Thomas Sowell (1996). “Knowledge And Decisions”, p.296, Basic Books

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• Any judicial nominee who has said that the Constitution means what it says, not what judges would like it to mean, is going to be called an 'extremist.' That person will be said to be 'out of the mainstream.' But the mainstream is itself the problem.

  Thomas Sowell

  Mean, Judging, Constitution

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• Central planning, judicial activism, and the nanny state all presume vastly more knowledge than any elite have ever possessed.

  Thomas Sowell

  Nannies, Planning, States

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• Sellers in general maintain the quality of their products and services for fear of losing customers otherwise. But, when price controls create a situation where the amount demanded is greater than the amount supplied - a shortage - fear of losing customers is no longer as strong an incentive. For example, landlords typically reduce painting and repairs when there is rent control, because there is no need to fear vacancies when there are more tenants looking for apartments than there are apartments available.

  Thomas Sowell

  Strong, Quality, Example

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• Organizational progress parallels that in science and technology, permitting ultimate simplicity through intermediate complexity.

  Thomas Sowell

  Technology, Simplicity, Progress

  Thomas Sowell (1996). “Knowledge And Decisions”, p.11, Basic Books

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• The anointed don't like to talk about painful trade-offs. They like to talk about happy "solutionsthat get rid of the whole problem- at least in their imagination.

  Thomas Sowell

  Imagination, Society, Problem

  Thomas Sowell (1993). “Is Reality Optional?: And Other Essays”, Hoover Inst Press

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• One of the most ridiculous defenses of foreign aid is that it is a very small part of our national income. If the average American set fire to a five-dollar bill, it would be an even smaller percentage of his annual income. But everyone would consider him foolish for doing it.

  Thomas Sowell

  Fire, Average, Dollar Bills

  "Barbarians Inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays". Book by Thomas Sowell, 1999.

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• People who thing that they are getting something for nothing, by having government provide what they would otherwise have to buy in the private market, are not only kidding themselves by ignoring the taxes that government has to take from them in order to give them the appearance of something for nothing.

  Thomas Sowell

  Government, Order, People

  Thomas Sowell (2011). “Dismantling America and Other Controversial Essays (Large Print 16pt)”, p.76, ReadHowYouWant.com

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• Any statistics can be extrapolated to the point where they show disaster.

  Thomas Sowell

  Science, Statistics, Disaster

  Thomas Sowell (1995). “The Vision of the Anointed: Self-congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy”, p.102, Basic Books

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• All things are the same except for the differences, and different except for the similarities.

  Thomas Sowell

  Science, Differences, Different

  Thomas Sowell (2006). “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”, p.266, Encounter Books

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• Relevance is not something you can predict. It is something you discover after the fact.

  Thomas Sowell

  Facts, Relevance

  Thomas Sowell (2011). “The Thomas Sowell Reader”, p.354, Basic Books

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• The law of diminishing returns means that even the most beneficial prinicple will become harmful if carried far enough.

  Thomas Sowell

  Mean, Science, Law

  Thomas Sowell (1995). “The Vision of the Anointed: Self-congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy”, p.102, Basic Books

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• Few professors would dare to publish research or teach a course debunking the claims made in various ethnic, gender, or other 'studies' courses.

  Thomas Sowell

  Research, Study, Gender

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• What is politically defined as economic planning is the forcible superseding of other people's plans by Government officials.

  Thomas Sowell

  Government, People, Planning

  Thomas Sowell (1996). “Knowledge And Decisions”, p.213, Basic Books

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• The march of science and technology does not imply growing intellectual complexity in the lives of most people. It often means the opposite.

  Thomas Sowell

  Mean, Technology, Opposites

  Thomas Sowell (1996). “Knowledge And Decisions”, p.10, Basic Books

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• The Obama administration seems to be following what might be called 'the Detroit pattern increasing taxes, harassing businesses, and pandering to unions. In the short run, it got mayors re-elected. In the long-run, it reduced Detroit from a thriving city to an economic disaster area, whose population was cut in half, as its most productive citizens fled.

  Thomas Sowell

  Running, Cutting, Cities

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• Students are often in no position to judge 'relevance' until long after the fact.

  Thomas Sowell

  Long, Judging, Facts

  Thomas Sowell (2001). “A Personal Odyssey”, p.127, Simon and Schuster

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