All Thomas Sowell Quotes
- Most people who read "The Communist Manifesto" probably have no idea that it was written by a couple of young men who had never worked… Boldly
- Much of the self-righteous nonsense that abounds on so many subjects cannot stand up to three questions: (1) Compared to what? (2) At what cost?… Abounds
- The growing complexity of science, technology, and organization does not imply either a growing knowledge or a growing need for knowledge in the general population.… Accessible
- With various people complaining about "price gouging?... economist Walter Williams has coined a new term: "Tax gouging." But government is never accused of either "greed"… Accused
- American prosperity and American free enterprise are both highly unusual in the world, and we should not overlook the possibility that the two are connected. American
- Perhaps the most widespread misunderstanding of economics is that it applies solely to financial transactions. Frequently this leads to statements that "there are noneconomic values"… Applies
- Price fixing does not represent simply windfall gains and losses to particular groups according to whether the price happens to be set higher or lower… Acceptable
- Since man does not create physical matter, those who handle material objects in the production process are not producers in that sense. Economic benefits result… Actually Come
- The principles applied in economic processes are general social principles. Applied
- Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only the ideas of an Edison… Acts
- The more adaptability exists for a given kind of decision, the less risky it is to make plans for the future, and therefore the more… Adaptability
- Civilization is an enormous device for economizing knowledge,. Civilization
- We should listen first and foremost to our own experience We should stop looking for saviors.Society has not existed for thousands of years because it… Existed
- Implicit in the activist conception of government is the assumption that you can take the good things in a complex system for granted, and just… Activist
- The most basic inherent constraint is that neither time nor wisdom are free goods available in unlimited quantity. This means that in social processes, as… Attain
- Ideas are everywhere, but knowledge is rare. Everywhere
- Ideas, as the raw material from which knowledge is produced, exist in superabundance, but that makes the production of knowledge more difficult rather than easier.… Authenticated
- The stricter standards and independent, often conclusive, evidence in the physical sciences cannot be generalized to intellectual activity as a whole, even though the aura… Activity
- Knowledge can be enormously costly, and is often scattered in widely uneven fragments, too small to be individually usable in decision making. The communication and… Any
- Informal relationships are not mere minor interstitial supplements to the major institutions of society. These informal relationships not only include important decision-making processes, such as… Background