Sowell has an amazing ability to communicate timeless truths succinctly.
Economics is often referred to as “the dismal science,” but few have done more in history to help its reputation than Thomas Sowell.
The 92-year-old economist has authored more than 45 books, including bestsellers such as Basic Economics, Black Rednecks and White Liberals, and Economic Facts and Fallacies. He has also written on politics, sociology, education, race, and much more.
Sowell’s work has been cited extensively. Between 1991 and 1995 he was the most cited black economist and the second most cited between 1971 and 1990.
He started his academic career working as an assistant professor at Cornell University and was mentored by Milton Friedman. In 1976 he was offered a position as a Federal Trade Commissioner by the Ford administration but turned it down because of the political games that came with the position. Sowell, through his experience, found the usual bureaucracy and politics in academia and government to be ineffective and exhausting. You’ll find that sentiment in many of the quotes below.
Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute where you can still find him today.
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“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”
“Some things must be done on faith, but the most dangerous kind of faith is that which masquerades as ‘science.’”
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
“The real goal should be reduced government spending, rather than balanced budgets achieved by ever rising tax rates to cover ever rising spending.”
“The big divide in this country is not between Democrats and Republicans, or women and men, but between talkers and doers.”
“Elections should be held on April 16th- the day after we pay our income taxes. That is one of the few things that might discourage politicians from being big spenders.”
“If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten you labeled a radical 60 years ago, a liberal 30 years ago and a racist today.”
“When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”
Random stuff I find interesting and you may not.
