Thomas Sowell Quotes


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. Thomas Sowell Politics 209
The real minimum wage is zero unemployment. Thomas Sowell Work 197
People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything. Thomas Sowell Leadership 172
Too much of what is called education is little more than an expensive isolation from reality. Thomas Sowell Education 169
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it. Thomas Sowell Socialism 169
Prices are important not because money is considered paramount but because prices are a fast and effective conveyor of information through a vast society in which fragmented knowledge must be coordinated. Thomas Sowell Society 152
The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive. Thomas Sowell Work 144
Liberalism is totalitarianism with a human face. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 133
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. Thomas Sowell Decisions 102
People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do. Thomas Sowell Work 94
If politicians stopped meddling with things they dont understand there would be a more drastic reduction in the size of government than anyone in either party advocates. Thomas Sowell Politicians 89
Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 88
The people made worse off by slavery were those who were enslaved. Their descendants would have been worse off today if born in Africa instead of America. Put differently, the terrible fate of their ancestors benefitted them. Thomas Sowell Fate 87
Social values in general are incrementally variable: neither safety, diversity, rational articulation, nor morality is categorically a good thing to have more of, without limits. All are subject to diminishing returns, and ultimately negative returns. Thomas Sowell Socialism 84
Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 81
If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly. Thomas Sowell Business 81
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 Technology 81
Bailing out people who made illadvised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos. Thomas Sowell Economy 78
The simplest and most psychologically satisfying explanation of any observed phenomenon is that it happened that way because someone wanted it to happen that way. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 77
Mistakes can be corrected by those who pay attention to facts but dogmatism will not be corrected by those who are wedded to a vision. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 74
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology accepts blacks in the top ten percent of students, but at MIT this puts them in the bottom ten percent of the class. Thomas Sowell Technology 73
Life in general has never been even close to fair, so the pretense that the government can make it fair is a valuable and inexhaustible asset to politicians who want to expand government. Thomas Sowell Government 72
In liberal logic, if life is unfair then the answer is to turn more tax money over to politicians, to spend in ways that will increase their chances of getting reelected. Thomas Sowell Money 69
One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them. Thomas Sowell Trust 68
The big divide in this country is not between Democrats and Republicans, or women and men, but between talkers and doers. Thomas Sowell Women 63
What all these lofty and vague phrases boil down to is that the court can impose things that the voters dont want and the Constitution does not require but which are in vogue in circles to which the court responds. Thomas Sowell Economics 62
The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department. Thomas Sowell Time 62
It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance. Thomas Sowell Funny 62
Each day, as I take various pills, I realize that without those pills I might not be alive -- and, if I were, life would not be worth living. Yet those who produce these medications are under constant attack from people who produce nothing. Thomas Sowell Medicine 61
You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 59
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 Economics 58
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. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 58
There are only two ways of telling the complete truth - anonymously and posthumously. Thomas Sowell Anonymously 53
Mystical references to society and its programs to help may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more power in the hands of bureaucrats. Thomas Sowell Society 53
The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 51
The real goal should be reduced government spending, rather than balanced budgets achieved by ever rising tax rates to cover ever rising spending. Thomas Sowell Government 50
Racism does not have a good track record. Its been tried out for a long time and youd think by now wed want to put an end to it instead of putting it under new management. Thomas Sowell Racism 46
The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 43
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics. Thomas Sowell Politics 43
Intellect is not wisdom. Thomas Sowell Society 41
Young people in general - and young women in particular - need to understand that they cannot retrieve in their forties the opportunities they threw away in their twenties. Thomas Sowell Age 39
Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation? Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 37
The government is indeed an institution but the market is nothing more than an option for each individual to chose among numerous existing institutions or to fashion new arrangements suited to his own situation and taste. Thomas Sowell Economics 37
Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on income distribution the cold fact is that most income is not distributed It is earned. Thomas Sowell Socialism 36
Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good. Thomas Sowell History 36
Everyone may be called comrade but some comrades have the power of life and death over other comrades. Thomas Sowell Economics 35
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 Economics 35
If the battle for civilization comes down to the wimps versus the barbarians, the barbarians are going to win. Thomas Sowell Uncategorized 31
It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it. Thomas Sowell Government 31
People who identify themselves as conservatives donate money to charity more often than people who identify themselves as liberals. They donate more money and a higher percentage of their incomes. Thomas Sowell Money 31

Showing 1 to 50 of 52 entries

Previous1 2Next

Thomas Sowell Quotes

Search Result