Thomas Sowell Quotes on Social Policy, Equality & Education
The following collection of quotes by Thomas Sowell are definitely thought-provoking.
Thomas Sowell is an influential economist who is known for his work on race, social policy and economic inequality.
What is Thomas Sowell known for?
Thomas Sowell has written extensively on a variety of topics, including education, history, and politics and is known for his sometimes-controversial views over the years.
Below are just some of Sowell’s interesting quotes that inspire questioning and further contemplation.
Thomas Sowell Quotes
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” Thomas Sowell
“I have never understood why it is “greed” to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.” Thomas Sowell
“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.” Thomas Sowell
“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
“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.” Thomas Sowell
“Sometimes it seems as if there are more solutions than problems. On closer scrutiny, it turns out that many of today’s problems are a result of yesterday’s solutions.” Thomas Sowell
“The big divide in this country is not between Democrats and Republicans, or women and men, but between talkers and doers.” Thomas Sowell
“The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of the elites.” Thomas Sowell
“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
Thomas Sowell Quotes on Absurdity
“The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings.” Thomas Sowell
“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
“You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats’ procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.” Thomas Sowell
“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
“The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best.” Thomas Sowell
“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
“It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites.” Thomas Sowell
“When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.” Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell Quotes on Socialism
“The strongest argument for socialism is that it sounds good. The strongest argument against socialism is that it doesn’t work. But those who live by words will always have a soft spot in their hearts for socialism because it sounds so good.” Thomas Sowell
“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
“Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.” Thomas Sowell
“There are only two ways of telling the complete truth–anonymously and posthumously.” Thomas Sowell
“Socialism is a wonderful idea. It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export…. Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea — in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders. ” Thomas Sowell
“Failure is a big part of a free market’s success. People fail to live up to their potential, or to carry out all their good intentions, in all kinds of economic and political systems. Capitalism makes them pay a price for their failures, while socialism, feudalism, fascism and other systems enable personal failures, especially by those at the top, to be ignored.” Thomas Sowell
“Since this is an era when many people are concerned about ‘fairness’ and ‘social justice,’ what is your ‘fair share’ of what someone else has worked for?” Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell Quotes on Equality
“The word ‘racism’ is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything – and demanding evidence makes you a ‘racist.’” Thomas Sowell
“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.” Thomas Sowell
“The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.” Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell Quotes on Education
“Intellect is not wisdom.” Thomas Sowell
“Education is not merely neglected in many of our schools today, but is replaced to a great extent by ideological indoctrination.” Thomas Sowell
“The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t read. The problem isn’t even that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.” Thomas Sowell
If you’re interested in more famous quotes and sayings, be sure to check out:
- 42 of The Best Stoic Quotes For Life
- Benjamin Disraeli Quotes – on Success & A Good Life
- H.L. Mencken Quotes
- Quotes From Seneca – Stoic Wisdom on Life
- 34 of The Best Henry Ford Quotes
