-
Uncovered California
June 12, 2013 | 45 comments
-
Why Is IPAB M.I.A.?
April 29, 2013 | 19 comments
-
Sowell, Race Hustlers, and David Hume
March 29, 2013 | 8 comments
-
Thomas Sowell and the Intellectuals
March 28, 2013 | 9 comments
-
Thomas Sowell Live, Part II
April 16, 2012 | 20 comments
Buy the Book
Understanding America’s Decline
Unfortunately, no one understands it better than Thomas Sowell.
Dismantling America
by
Thomas Sowell
(Basic Books, 341 pages, $27.95)
America, it seems, is always in decline.
Searching through Amazon.com reveals plenty of works arguing that America’s best days are behind her. From the 1974 novel The Decline and Fall of America; to William Dietrich’s 1991 book, In the Shadow of the Rising Sun: The Political Roots of American Economic Decline, about Japan’s inevitable surpassing of America economically; to the more recent The Death of the West by the always upbeat Patrick Buchanan, most such works of gloom-and-doom have usually been followed by years of tremendous peace and prosperity. After a while it is hard to take any book about American decline seriously.
However, if there a reason to treat the idea of our society’s fall with grave concern, it is that a book has now been written about it by Thomas Sowell.
Entitled Dismantling America, it is a collection of some of his more recent newspaper columns grouped into five sections — government policies, political issues, economic issues, cultural issues, and legal issues — with some added commentary beginning each section.
Sowell’s thesis is encapsulated in the following passage:
The collapse of a civilization is not just the replacement of rulers or institutions with new rulers and new institutions. It is the destruction of a whole way of life and the painful, and sometimes pathetic, attempts to begin rebuilding amid the ruins.
Is that where American is headed? I believe it is. Our only saving grace is that we are not there yet.
The decline of America is a theme that has increasingly preoccupied Sowell’s work, and it might be tempting to dismiss it as a natural occurrence of age. A little earlier this year, Sowell became an octogenarian. As the British writer Samuel Johnson once said:
Every old man complains of the growing depravity of the world, of the petulance and insolence of the rising generation. He recounts the decency and regularity of former times, and celebrates the discipline and sobriety of the age in which his youth was passed; a happy age which is now no more to be expected, since confusion has broken in upon the world, and thrown down all the boundaries of civility and reverence.
Yet Sowell seems to be well aware of such sentiment. For example, in the random thoughts portion of the book, Sowell states, “Despite people who speak glibly about ‘earlier and simpler times,’ all that makes earlier times seem simpler is our ignorance of their complexities.”
Further, Sowell has not rushed into this subject lightly. Indeed, he appears to have wrestled with it at length. In a previous book, Sowell said that while he sometimes got depressed about the future of this great nation, he once asked the Nobel economist and libertarian Friedrich Hayek if he was pessimistic or optimistic about the future. Hayek replied “Optimistic!” and pointed out that in the 1940s he had been a lonely voice against government intervention in the economy, but that in the decades since his ideas about liberty had proliferated. Thus, Sowell has been concerned about this subject for some time, and if he is convinced America is in decline, we would do well to consider his warning.
Sowell points to the Obama Administration as a prime example of America’s decline. Obama has had no problem appointing “czars” who determine the salary of corporate executives, praise mass murderers like Chairman Mao, or believe public schools are the place to promote sexual practices that most Americans find objectionable. He seems eager to ram legislation thousands of pages long through Congress before the American public has adequate time to know what is in it and enthusiastic about a panel (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board) that will make life-and-death decisions about medical care.
But Sowell does not view Obama so much as a cause of America’s decline as the embodiment of trends set in motion decades ago. One such trend is the gradual relinquishing to an elite of intellectuals the liberty that rightly belongs with individuals. These elites — comprised of politicians, academics, journalists and judges — are infected with the belief that they are qualified to make decisions for the rest of us. Sowell warns of the disaster that they can do: “There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high IQs.”
In the column “Playing Freedom Cheap,” Sowell warns against the “dangerous power toward which we are moving, bit by bit, on the installment plan… of politicians to tell people what their incomes can and cannot be.” To achieve this, the elite foment resentment against “the rich” and distract the public with phrases like “obscene wealth” and “unconscionable profits.” Sowell argues:
About the Author
David Hogberg is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research. Follow him on Twitter.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (77) | Leave a comment
More Articles by David Hogberg
More Articles From Buy the Book
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/08/20/understanding-americas-decline
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
The Spectacle Blog
Democrat Dan Maffei Blames Budget Cuts for Girl’s Rape, Mother’s Murder
Robert Stacy McCain | 6.18.13
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
JOTHEPRO| 8.20.10 @ 7:10AM
All of Thomas Sowell's books should be required reading for all high school students.
ton| 8.20.10 @ 10:20AM
Really? Ironically, "required reading for high school students" is the root of the problem.
The triump of government education and the enshrinement of educrates at every level of government. There is NO hope until the state stranglehold on education is broken; the apparatus must be dismantled, de-funded, abandoned. Children must be rescued from the clutches of the state and the perpetuation of igorance. Dewey was right; give us your children and we will turn them into compliant, clueless, and dependent wards of the state.
Alan Brooks| 8.20.10 @ 12:20PM
You are taking libertopianism to its extreme. Thomas Sowell's reading is no worse, and probably better, than what is required reading at this time.
At worst, Sowell is harmless.
George True| 8.20.10 @ 3:59PM
Sowell's books are far from harmless. Two in particular, "The Vision of the Anointed" and "The quest for Cosmic Justice", if read by every college student, would represent an existential threat to the survival of the left in this country.
Bonsage| 8.21.10 @ 9:27PM
Absolutely on target! It is public schools which undermine America, nothing else even comes close. How a nation of free people ever decided to put the education of our children into the hands of the state is beyond my understanding, and it must end.
stmichrick| 8.22.10 @ 5:11PM
The rot is beyond public education; it is a pathology that came out of the late '60s and early '70s that is unique in American history.
A generation, of which a large number of them are college educated, decided that their discovery of collectivism and statism was somehow more enlightened than prior generations. This narcissism, combined with advances in the technology of mass media, created the perfect storm that manifested itself, first with the Clintons and now with Obama, as the predominant mindset of government careerists.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.20.10 @ 7:37AM
There is little dispute as to Thomas Sowell's genius. Here is a quote that I often get a good laugh from:
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
Deborah D | 8.20.10 @ 8:16AM
He has a bunch of great ones, doesn't he, Bill. He is a national treasure. I hope he lives long and longer. Thanks for sharing this one. Here's one that gave me a chuckle:
“One of the consequences of such notions as 'entitlements' is that people who have contributed nothing to society feel that society owes them something, apparently just for being nice enough to grace us with their presence.” Thomas Sowell
Eric Cartman| 8.20.10 @ 9:07AM
He's a hoot with a top-shelf mind. Don't ya wish our Congress was full of Sowells instead of Pelosis. There was a time when it was possible, but the GOP screwed that up. Both Sowell and Reagan speak the same way - with humor and a warning rolled into one. Both take the Left's bullcrap masquerading as thought and spray it with BS Remover, has the annoying Liberal pick up his pile of stank and place it in a poop bag and walk it back to his house where he can enjoy it without polluting the rest of us. But the GOP after Reagan became the GHW Bush party and returned to the elitist East Coast Liberal crap that has plagued this country for decades - we can't take much more, folks.
Eric Cartman| 8.20.10 @ 9:07AM
He's a hoot with a top-shelf mind. Don't ya wish our Congress was full of Sowells instead of Pelosis. There was a time when it was possible, but the GOP screwed that up. Both Sowell and Reagan speak the same way - with humor and a warning rolled into one. Both take the Left's bullcrap masquerading as thought and spray it with BS Remover, has the annoying Liberal pick up his pile of stank and place it in a poop bag and walk it back to his house where he can enjoy it without polluting the rest of us. But the GOP after Reagan became the GHW Bush party and returned to the elitist East Coast Liberal crap that has plagued this country for decades - we can't take much more, folks.
Cheri| 8.23.10 @ 2:42PM
Thanks for the quotes. I'm adding them to my list, which includes this one from Ronald Reagan:
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." "Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty."
InLineFour| 8.20.10 @ 3:18PM
Too many great Sowell quotes for me to have a favourite, tho your's and Deborah's are certainly keepers.
Were he in his 50s to 60s rather than 80s, I'd be saying I'd vote for the 2012 POTUS candidate who named Thomas Sowell as his(her?!) top economic advisor.
Gordon Liddy said Thomas Sowell may be the smartest man in America. I have yet to see that statement refuted (trolls on TAS notwithstanding..).
Impeach Don't Wait| 8.20.10 @ 10:48PM
Ah. I think with Sowell at 80-plus, said candidate would still get my vote ;).
Peggy| 8.20.10 @ 9:25PM
I agree totally with that statement. Put your money where your mouth is!
martin j smith| 8.20.10 @ 8:00AM
Having a good read is good. But what to do about it--that is more important to me. There is an ELECTION COMING UP FOLKS. Make sure you vote AGAINST THE LEFT BY VOTING REPUBLICN NO MATTER WHAT. After that we can talk all the talk you want.
Tom Osterman| 8.20.10 @ 9:48AM
As long as the Republicans we put in aren't part of the problem, i.e. Big Government types, then yes. But no more McCains, Spectors, etc.
George True| 8.20.10 @ 4:11PM
Sure, vote for the true conservative/libertarian minded reformer in the primary. But in the general election, the only way you can vote against leftist Democrats (and they are ALL leftists) is to vote FOR Republicans. Even if the Republican is a RINO, he or she will be at least somewhat less harmful than the Dem, and may even be helpful at times. Then, in 2012, we can have another shot at replacing the RINO with someone better. It's a process. Lather, rinse, repeat.
martin j smith| 8.20.10 @ 10:14AM
Tom Osterman, I know there are Rinos and Dinos, and all that. But this coming November ,think of it as a ONE LAST SHOT at stopping the left. A vote for a Republican is not a statement of your everlasting love and adoration for any candidate. This election frankly should have been created as a simple referendum: YES or NON to Socialism. That in a sense would make it much clearer. But in this country it doesn't work that way. So instead in my view and for5 many others, it is not the individual running, but substitute the word NON for Republican. Or would you rather see the LEFT over run our country. In my humble oppinion there are people who0 would shoot themselves and the rest of us in the foot so to speak if they did not get the "perfect or near perfect candidate" --this is a fool. Then there are trolls who purposely insiuate ideas that creation dissention. So to those who live in Rio Linda, I say take pill and do your duty vote out the left. Then we can argue about RHINOS and bad choices in voting on issues as long as we want. The crucial thing is to make it very very abundantly clear that the answer to Obama and his agenda is NON,NON,NON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have I made myself clkear ?
joli| 8.20.10 @ 8:44PM
Thank you! There are still far too many people who don't get this point--in any general election race where a Republican is on the ticket, a vote for ANY other party is a vote for socialism! Not because all other parties are socialist (the Constitution Party certainly is not) but because a 3rd party pulls votes away from the Republican, NOT the democrat. There are some races where there is NO Republican opponent, in which case by all means, vote for the best candidate regardless of party. But either way, VOTE!
joli| 8.20.10 @ 8:53PM
Eventually a 3rd party may be able to take power, but the learning curve is steep. Right now, most people will either vote for the name they recognize, or the one with (R) next to it. Once we have installed Republicans we must be ruthless in holding their feet to the fire, calling them out when they make a wrong move, and no longer allowing the "go along to get along" political game. As soon as it becomes apparent that our elected Republicans are serving themselves rather than us, we need to invest our time and treasure into replacing them with a better representative.
Tom Osterman| 8.21.10 @ 3:54PM
One problem: once you install someone, getting him or her out is difficult since you're trying to oust the incumbent. And don't think that there won't be pushback. In late '07/early '08 the GOP moderates were warning darkly about a takeover of the GOP by "ideologues," meaning conservatives.
It may be true that when election day rolls around then I have to hold my nose and vote for the GOP nominee. The question is, after the base holds its nose and votes, what other votes are there. The base supported McCain in '08, but the independents and the middle went for Obama. In '92, the base went for Bush 41, but the independents and the middle went for Perot, who ran as a non-ideological pragmatist. The third parties that peel off support from the GOP aren't the Libertarian or Constitution parties.
Finally, there is the little matter of the contempt that GOP moderates/pragmatists display for conservatives when they think they don't need them.
Cheri| 8.23.10 @ 2:45PM
Sadly, I must agree with you. However, if the Republicans had given us someone other than John McCain, we might have had a chance. I voted for Sarah Palin.
Bonsage| 8.21.10 @ 9:29PM
Agreed, and not to be too melodramatic, but THIS COULD BE AMERICA'S LAST FREE ELECTION if we fail to win it.
Petronius| 8.20.10 @ 10:26AM
Ought to be on the shelf right next to Visions of the Anointed. I'll have at it.
The biggest obstacle to economic literacy begins in kindergarten where the kiddies are taught that everybody must "share". And for most people there are no further lessons on the subject. The results are that all real sense of propriety goes out the window and is displaced by envy and entitlement. The 5 year old cares not that what he is being told to share is not his to begin with. So later in life when he observes his betters who "have it too good", his resentment is their fault. Most people in this country no longer believe in opportunity. They believe in plunder. Their greatest desire is total collective disavowal of Our American Revolution and elevation and confirmation of the French.
George True| 8.20.10 @ 4:27PM
It has always astounded me that the Nannystate of the left, instead of teaching our youth to "go out and earn your own stuff", instead teach that they are entitled to some of what others have earned. This is in direct contravention of the tenth commandment, namely "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's".
The philosophy of the right in a nutshell is, "You need to earn your own stuff. We will teach you how to get it, and we will create an environment where it will not be too hard to do it if you apply yourself, but you need to earn it yourself, not pilfer it from someone else". The left essentially says, "You're too stupid to make it on your own, so we will provide your stuff for you. Besides, the people that have more stuff than you have it because they exploited people like you, so you have a right to it". In short, the left preaches covetousness.
Walking Horse| 8.20.10 @ 4:59PM
Frederik Bastiat wrote, ""When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it."
When theft becomes the basis for a society, its members must lie to themselves to obscure the truth of the matter.
sasob| 8.20.10 @ 5:46PM
In short, the left preaches covetousness.
In short the left is a pack of liars, beggars, and thieves....as well as con artists, whore mongers and slave masters.
scotchieguy| 8.20.10 @ 7:30PM
George, you nailed it. It really is that simple. The right equips you w/ the tools and expects you to make it. The left thinks you are too stupid, and that oh BTW, the right got theirs solely on the backs of the poor. The only thing you left out is not only does the left think the masses are too stupid to make it on their own, they will annoint themselves the masters of who gets what, and how much. It is really about nothing more than power and control. And everyone falls for it.
Horace Mann| 8.20.10 @ 11:14AM
It is not the public in public schools that is the problem. It is a too late leaving age and the idea that schools can replace parents as primary educators. When schools could leave pupils back,judge student's work and not the student and had rigorous curricula they worked.
If you read touchy feely books like Summerhill,you realize that non-public does not mean good. Diane Ravitch has some good thoughts on this. Public or private if the schools taught Sowell and double entry bookeeping they'd be good.
Petronius| 8.21.10 @ 1:14AM
I have it on good authority that The Little Red Hen is still in print. From now on it must be required reading for every 1st grader. And it should also be the first book report they must write.
The entitlement mob uses three words when they talk of economics; have, get, and benefit. The late Malcom Forbes favorite quote is, "with all thy getting, get understanding." And anybody who does not understand the tenets of The Little Red Hen should not be allowed to exercise any of the Rights of citizenship in these United States.
lloyd dobbs| 8.23.10 @ 3:29PM
The quote is:
"Wisdom is the priciple thing; therefore, get Wisdom and with all thy getting, get Understanding". From PROVERBS. Forbes paraphrased the Holy Bible. "Wisdom" is the Mind of Christ.
carnot| 8.20.10 @ 11:58AM
well...anyone who has kids - noew understood to bracket a range stretching into the 30s - knows full well that...rhetoric notwithstanding...the younger gerneration expects to maintain the standard of living it grew up with. redistribution be damned, albeit often on mom & pop's dime.
as do the Hollywood elites I hope are at the top of "we'll deal with you when things turn South" list....first.....
K962| 8.20.10 @ 1:30PM
Daniel Moynihan said it well years ago America is defining deviancy down! We have been doing it for years and we are reaping the consequences!
Tim*| 8.20.10 @ 1:58PM
Doc Sowell opposes The Deconstructionist Agendists , who are attempting to tear down The American Free Market .
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates.
Remember In November .
fundamentalist| 8.20.10 @ 2:29PM
For the Christians out there, consider the wrath of God portrayed in the Bible. The West has been abandoning him for over a century. But that doesn't mean he is going to whack us all of a sudden. He has created the world with built in judgments. For example, there is a severe built in judgment for violating the law of gravity.
Capitalism and freedom were fruits of the Protestant Reformation. But as the West has abandoned traditional Christianity the majority have become socialists. Socialism is God's built-in judgment today. Greece is our future. We will become poorer and the fights over the remaining wealth will grow in intensity.
At the same time, our lack of values and tolerance for every kind of perversion will make us easy targets for ruthless dictators to rise from within.
joli| 8.20.10 @ 9:00PM
2Chron 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
God doesn’t say “those other people”, but MY people. If those of us who BELIEVE IN HIM will humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wickedness, then He will hear us and forgive us and heal our country, WITHOUT REGARD to what “those other people” do. If WE obey 2 Chron 7:14, He will heal OUR land.
If we fail to respond to 2Chron 7:14, then it is WE who are to blame for the continuing deterioration of everything that was once bright and beautiful about America! Politics are useful, but it is the weakest tool in the box, and without a heartfelt response to God, politics alone CANNOT restore our country! We must use politics to stand up against the evil that politicians are wreaking on our country, but to rely on politics alone to save us is IDOLATRY!
Sometimes healing is a miraculous restoration of what was lost—but sometimes it is an amputation of gangrenous flesh so that healthy tissue may thrive. I pray for a merciful healing, but I cannot deny God's divine right to amputate if He feels it necessary.
fundamentalist| 8.20.10 @ 2:35PM
The greatest economist of the 20th century, Ludwig von Mises, wrote about the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It started with the emperor's devaluing the coins by adding base metals to the gold and silver in coins but keeping their face value. The predictable result was price inflation. So the emperor fixed the prices of tens of thousands of goods below their cost of production. As a result, farmers quit selling their produce to the cities and many quit farming. Production of anything stopped. So the emperor dictated that everyone had to stay in the profession in which they were born, and thus feudalism was born. But the people in the cities still couldn't get food, so they left the cities and wandered in the country in search of food. The cities emptied.
Every since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Europeans tried to figure out what happened, but they never got it. Today we still don't get it. If the world survives, a thousand years from now people will still be trying to figure out the decline of the USA.
Andy W| 8.21.10 @ 12:31AM
At the rate things are going, it won't be centuries.
lloyd dobbs| 8.23.10 @ 3:41PM
The DECLINE of America has already been determined in History: 1913, Woodrow Wilson,
the Federal Reserve Bill and the UNPASSED 14th Amendment, followed by FDR and the Socialists. Rather than Praying and Seeking God's Will, Americans allowed Satan and his demons to lead us from "One Nation Under God" to" One Nation under ANY God you choose" (because, they claim, there are MANY "ways" (paths) to the Father (Obama, Ophra, et.al.). And NOW we come into the Wrath of God with Anger among men instead of His Love and Envy instead of His Security. God HELP us all in these Last Days.
PJ| 8.20.10 @ 2:56PM
The USA as defined in the Constitution & interpreted by the Founding Fathers is dying. I look at it's current situation as reviving a Phase 4 cancer-stricken patient sickened by the current complication. Unlike a cancer patient, it could take decades or even 1 or 2 centuries before the final coup de grace is administered to the USA. I hope to be dead by then.
George True| 8.20.10 @ 4:32PM
There is a very good chance that you will be dead 1 or 2 centuries from now. :-)
PJ | 8.20.10 @ 5:08PM
Let me re-phrase: I hope to be dead before the final coup de grace.
fantum| 8.20.10 @ 3:51PM
Dr. Thomas Sowell on a number of subjects...
http://usataxpayer.org/htm/vids.asp?File=sowell
Dennis Prager at University of Denver...
http://usataxpayer.org/htm/vids.asp?A=69378366
Alan Brooks| 8.20.10 @ 4:59PM
"Sowell's books are far from harmless. Two in particular, 'The Vision of the Anointed' and 'The quest for Cosmic Justice', if read by every college student, would represent an existential threat to the survival of the left in this country."
But even if the Left thoroughly disappeared we wouldn't live in a virtuous America. The Star Spangled Banner's ending is: "O'er land of the free, and the home of the brave";
There is nothing about decency in that song; free and brave are not synonymous with good.
The business of business is business.
scotchieguy| 8.20.10 @ 7:36PM
Dude, what do you do for a living? Do you even work? Are you retired? How can you possibly comment so many times on nearly every other post on every article on this site?
Alan Brooks| 8.20.10 @ 8:17PM
What?? only four or five blogs. There over a dozen.
Bonsage| 8.21.10 @ 9:33PM
Mr. Brooks, I think there's a lot of decency in being free and brave, sorry you think otherwise.
Tony Raskoon| 8.23.10 @ 6:18PM
The siren song of collectivism is eternal. It should receive the same attention we have given to childhood diseases. Inoculation against Leftism by teaching our young about the true source of freedom and what it means, and the evil that collectivism represents. Only parents can deliver this message now since most teachers (I admittedly paint with a broad brush) are suckled at the government's breast, and know only a collectivist ideology.
Gerald Stephens| 8.20.10 @ 5:08PM
Dr. Sowell, a genius, not sufficient! He is America that fully defines America. And it isn’t over until the far lady sings.
Who still alive from the last century would believe they would be thrust into a second American Revolution? The founders envisioned, wrote, spoke and warned of it. Cast your minds eye back to the forces arrayed against our nation by England.
The battlefields were many with odds on in favor of the aggressor. Once awakened to the nature and extent of the plague, the people, not all, determined it was to be liberty or death. We the People are once again resolved it will be the former.
All the greatest struggles faced by our nation commencing with that of 1776 and onward with the War Between the States, the World Wars, and beyond required mammoth undertakings, and time, so to now. The nation will again be saved by our efforts.
We have many able citizens coming from within our ranks to assist in crushing the enemy. With our support and and heightened surveillance of their actions on our behalf the restoration of constitutional governance will prevail.
The strategy for victory is in the maintaining a fire in the belly and the logic of Dr. Thomas Sowell.
sasob| 8.20.10 @ 6:06PM
We have many able citizens coming from within our ranks to assist in crushing the enemy.
Unfortunately the "enemy" consists mostly of fellow Americans. What to do about that? "A house divided" etc.
Gerald Stephens| 8.21.10 @ 3:53AM
Lest one forget, the first Revolution saw our share of traitors. THEY WERE CRUSHED!
Bonsage| 8.21.10 @ 9:40PM
Don't you realize these zombies who voted for Obama will quickly follow when WE lead, and, if it comes to a more violent struggle, I wouldn't put any money on the effete, metrosexual side, would you?
Anthony| 8.20.10 @ 5:42PM
Dr. Sowell is our guide Virgil, as we wander through the cantos of hell Obama and the Left have created for America.
However, as Americans we will persevere; just follow this most gentle of men and Reagan's shining city on a hill will once again thrive.
Gerald Stephens| 8.21.10 @ 4:16AM
N.B. An untimely passing. John Armor, a patriot and constitutional scholar.
ACRU Mourns the Passing of John Armor
info@theacru.org
scotchieguy| 8.20.10 @ 7:14PM
His legendary quotes continue--in this article! Re Obama's re-election in 2012, "The gullibility and fecklessness of those voters who put him into office will still be there to be exploited by the next master of glib demogogeury and emotional images." In other words, just because we are able to get rid of O in 2012, doesn't mean there isn't some other imposter ready to fool the complacent masses. What is the saying? We have met the enemy, and it is us.
Rmm| 8.20.10 @ 7:43PM
Sowell has been a must read since his days at Forbes magazine. An economist by trade, the man just tells it like it is.
In regards to the current administration, he nails the O to the wall better than most. It is a shame that more ethnic people cannot rise above their 'color' and call out Ophony for what he is, in the way this man can.
WTF Guy| 8.20.10 @ 8:14PM
I place independent African American Thinkers on a higher plane than their peers of other races. They have more skin in the game and their strong internal confidence in what they believe just elevates above others.
LiveFreeOrDie| 8.23.10 @ 3:21PM
Sound an awful lot like something Sotomayor said about a, "wise latina."
Please enlighten me on what other attributes I should expect solely based on the color of one's skin.
1389AD | 8.21.10 @ 1:16AM
In "Obamacare" we are seeing the lethal corruption of Chicago politics writ large.
The government will save money by never providing the health care that was promised.
In other words, Thomas Sowell and Rep. Joe Wilson are correct: Obama lied.
See: http://tinyurl.com/obozocare
Chris C| 8.21.10 @ 5:21AM
Dr. Sowell's books are quickly filling up my library. I am new reader of Dr. Sowell. I am enjoying them. Next up Basic Economics and Applied Economics.
Part of my weekly routine is reading Dr. Sowell's columns. He is a beacon of light. His logicical approach to all issues and the ease at which he explains an issue makes his books great gifts to high school and college students as well as adults.
He should be required reading.
WTF Guy| 8.21.10 @ 10:23AM
A Conflict of Visions is a must read for all 20 somethings searching for understanding philosophical and political thought. A great book.
To me, TS is like the wise grandfather you have, had, or wish you had.
Chuck| 8.21.10 @ 6:49PM
Sowell wants students to "hear both sides of the argument"? With this caveat: as long as truth is the result. Shall we then tolerate a debate as to whether 2 + 2 is 5? Well, politics is more complex than that, but there is truth in politics also, true principles. Those principles need to be indoctrinated in our students. Yes, we want to expose them to Marxist thought in order to understand where it comes from, and where it is in error to demolish it, and teach them so.
Michele San Pietro| 8.22.10 @ 5:35PM
There's no decline in America, despite what Mr. Obama would have you believe. According to America dyed-in-the-wool enemies, America is always in decline. We should simply not care for the nonsense they talk.
Margie| 8.22.10 @ 7:10PM
The American spirit never gives up!
Believer| 8.23.10 @ 12:28AM
Michele San Pietro- Did you you say there's no decline in America? I would suggest you pick a catigory, any catigory and then go back 50 years and check to see if America has changed. From our school scores to our Mfg. base to our National debt and the list goes on, we are inchs away from total economic failure. And we owe it all to voters that wernt smart enough to know who to vote for. At this time in our history it's too late to turn it around, so God help your Kids as they will have to pay for it.
Tony in Central PA| 8.22.10 @ 9:03PM
I also recommend " Intellectuals and Society " which came out in 2009. Its a shame Sowell is getting up in years because I don't know who will replace him.
Believer| 8.23.10 @ 12:13AM
When Sowell said "There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people, for creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high I.Q.'s" that statement alone told me his book is worth reading
Michele San Pietro| 8.23.10 @ 5:41PM
I first heard the sentence "America is inches away from total economic failure" when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and America is still there. It's incredible how America haters have been repeating the same crap for at least 50 years.
Frosty| 8.23.10 @ 11:41PM
One of my favorite Sowell quotes, which succinctly summarizes the difference between capitalism and socialism, is, "A waitress doesn't bring your food out fast because you are hungry."
Ben| 9.11.10 @ 12:04AM
Only guy in Congress that truly cares about liberty and freedom is Ron Paul. Unfortunately he doesn't articulate very well even though he is right about pretty much everything. We just realize this in hindsight. Should have listened to him 2 decades ago when he was warning against harmful government intervention both domestically and overseas. We are pretty much screwed. American will not have a decade like the 80's and 90's for a very long time if ever. The bubble reality has popped as Ron Paul warned it would, and now it is time to pay the bills.
Obbop | 9.22.10 @ 12:34AM
"There's class warfare, all right, Mr. (Warren) Buffett said, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."
James H| 12.8.10 @ 5:18AM
i am really interested to know how america will react to chinas growing world influence. China has built a powerful econmy and is more dominant than america for the first time.
Joanna | 6.6.11 @ 4:40AM
What an interesting article- I hope to read more like this, thanks!UTI Treatment
biomedlives| 3.6.12 @ 12:19PM
"The 'gullibility and fecklessness of those voters who put him in the White House will still be there to be exploited by the next master of glib demagoguery and emotional images,' Sowell warns."
Then we can't leave decisions to the voters or to an elite that comes from the Democratic party, which means we should leave decisions to a Republican elite like the Koch brothers??
As a lifelong Republican, I'd also say that the decline stems from our abandonment of fiscal responsibility and that Medicare Part D and the unfunded wars overseas are both part of that abandonment.