Riley on Sowell
[Hat tip “Jan MN.”]
For those of you seeing an in-depth discussion of Thomas Sowell, here’s a video interview with Jason Riley, author of a biography of Sowell. His book is called Maverick, which I think is a somewhat unfortunate title since it conjures up (for me, anyway) John McCain rather than Sowell.
But if you want an introduction to Sowell’s life and work without reading the book, here it is:
“Maverick”.
Funny… I think of Top Gun, James Garner, and Mel Gibson, in that order, first… LOLZ.
What percentage of Americans even know of perhaps America’s greatest living National Treasure?
No peer comes to mind that is his equal.
The voice of wisdom, crying out in a wilderness.
Two thumbs up, this is an excellent intro
A wonderful video. I didn’t plan to watch the whole thing, but I couldn’t stop watching. Just great stuff.
Sowell’s work stands out because he has doe the research, the sturdy, and the digging in other cultures and societies – not just here in the USA. Because of that, his view of the human condition is, IMO, the correct one.
His study of the worldwide practice of slavery is unusual among American intellectuals, who so often treat slavery as an institution unique to the American South.
His study of welfare in other societies and recognizing that it doesn’t work very well anywhere it’s been tried is also unusual.
He has been willing to go where other intellectuals feared to tread and spoken up about issues that intellectuals didn’t want to touch (Such as the damage done to blacks by the Great Society programs and downplaying of equality of opportunity and emphasizing equality of outcome.)
He’s a maverick in that he refuses to follow conventional wisdom of the intellectual class and follows the facts where they lead him. And he has the courage to speak his truths, no matter how unpopular (A bit like someone who calls herself Neo. 🙂 )
My admiration for Sowell’s wisdom could not be higher. He is one of a kind.