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Thomas Sowell Quotes - Page 12

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Before the Iraq war I was quite disturbed by some of the neoconservatives, who were saying things like, What is the point of being a superpower if you can't do such-and-such, take on these responsibilities? The point of

Before the Iraq war I was quite disturbed by some of the neoconservatives, who were saying things like, "What is the point of being a superpower if you can't do such-and-such, take on these responsibilities?" The point of being a superpower is that people will leave you alone.

War, Responsibility, Iraq

"Live: Thomas Sowell". Interview with David Isaac, www.aei.org. January 01, 2004.

There are no dead-end jobs. There are no dead-end jobs. There are only dead-end people. Our current social philosophy, and the welfare state apparatus based on it, are creating more dead-end people.

Jobs, Philosophy, Creating

Thomas Sowell (2011). “The Thomas Sowell Reader”, p.40, Basic Books

Ronald Reagan had a vision of America. Barac k Obama has a vision of Barack Obama.

America, Vision, Barack

"Random Thoughts". townhall.com. December 24, 2008.

Even the Soviet Union, with its huge nuclear arsenal, was a threat that could be deterred by the prospect of retaliation. But suicide bombers cannot be deterred. They can only be annihilated - preemptively and unilaterally, if necessary.

Suicide, Bombers, Nuclear

Too many people - some of them judges - seem to think that freedom of speech means freedom from consequences for what you have said. If you believe that, try insulting your boss when you go to work tomorrow. Better yet, try insulting your spouse before going to bed tonight.

Believe, Mean, Thinking

"'Academic freedom'?" by Thomas Sowell, townhall.com. February 15, 2005.

The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of the elites.

Ego, Politics, Welfare

Thomas Sowell (2013). “Ever Wonder Why?: and Other Controversial Essays”, p.23, Hoover Press

When we hear about rent control or gun control, we may think about rent or guns but the word that really matters is 'control.' That is what the political left is all about, as you can see by the incessant creation of new restrictions in places where they are strongly entrenched in power, such as San Francisco or New York.

New York, Gun, Thinking

"Random Thoughts". capitalismmagazine.com. August 25, 2008.

Creating whole departments of ethnic, gender, and other 'studies' was part of the price of academic peace. All too often, these 'studies' are about propaganda rather than serious education.

Creating, Serious, Study

Eternal vigilance is only part of the price of freedom. The maturity to live with imperfections is another crucial part of the price of freedom.

Maturity, Imperfection, Vigilance

Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.

Las Vegas, People, Saving

"Taxpayers’ Trillion". www.nationalreview.com. September 24, 2008 Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/225751/taxpayers-trillion-thomas-sowell.

Those who automatically say that the social pathology of the ghetto is due to poverty discrimination and the like cannot explain why such pathology was far less prevalent in the 1950s, when poverty and discrimination were worse. But there were not nearly as many grievance mongers and race hustlers then.

Ghetto, Race, Poverty

Racism does not have a good track record. It's been tried out for a long time and you'd think by now we'd want to put an end to it instead of putting it under new management.

Thinking, Long, Racism

Just what is it that academics have to fear if they stand up for common decency, instead of letting campus barbarians run amok?

Running, Common Decency, Barbarians

Few of the great tragedies of history were created by the village idiot, and many by the village genius.

Tragedy, Village Idiots, Genius

"Roberts betrayed his oath". The St. Augustine Record, July 5, 2012.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Think things, not words." In words, many see a need for "social justice" to override "the dictates of the market." In reality, what is called "the market" consists of human beings making their own choices at their own cost. What is called "social justice" is government imposition of the notions of third parties, who pay no price for being wrong.

Party, Reality, Thinking

Barack Obama has done more than anyone else to promote the dangerous illusion that we can choose whether to have a war or not. But our enemies have already made that choice. Retired Marine Corps General James Mattis said: “No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it's over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote“.

War, Marine, Thinking

Just as members of American teachers unions often send their own children to private schools, so unionized workers at government-run hospitals in Britain have insurance that allows them to go to private hospitals. In both cases, those on the inside realize how bad these institutions are, regardless of what they say to those on the outside.

Running, Teacher, Children

Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that challenges the left vision.

Reading, Years, Challenges

We need laws written by people who have confronted life in the real world, not in the sheltered world of trust fund recipients of the insulated cocoon of academia.

Real, Law, People

Thomas Sowell (2011). “Dismantling America and Other Controversial Essays (Large Print 16pt)”, p.134, ReadHowYouWant.com

Policies are judged by their consequences but crusades are judged by how good they make the crusaders feel.

Atheism, Crusades, Feels

Thomas Sowell (1987). “Compassion Versus Guilt and Other Essays”, William Morrow

Women can say anything they want to men, or blacks to whites, with impunity. But strong words in the other direction can bring down on students the wrath of the campus thought police - as well as punishments that can extend to suspension or expulsion.

Strong, Men, Wrath

Those who wrote the Constitution clearly understood that power is dangerous and needs to be limited by being separated - separated not only into the three branches of the national government but also separated as between the whole national government, on the one hand, and the states and the people on the other.

Government, Hands, People

Thomas Sowell (2013). “Ever Wonder Why?: and Other Controversial Essays”, p.159, Hoover Press

Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.

Blood, Agony, Cost

Thomas Sowell (1996). “Knowledge And Decisions”, p.118, Basic Books

How a man who holds the entire population of a country as his prisoners, and punishes the families of those who escape, can be admired by people who call themselves liberals is one of the many wonders of the human mind's ability to rationalize. Yet such is the case with Fidel Castro.

Country, Men, People

Government cannot solve all our problems, even in normal times, much less during a catastrophe of nature that reminds man how little he is, despite all his big talk.

Men, Littles, Normal

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