The real culprits are those who created a system that makes it dangerous to work and safe to loaf. Thomas Sowell More Quotes by Thomas Sowell More Quotes From Thomas Sowell The government is indeed an institution, but "the market" is nothing more than an option for each individual to chose among numerous existing institutions, or to fashion new arrangements suited to his own situation and taste. Thomas Sowell fashion government taste Facts do not speak for themselves. They speak for or against competing theories. Facts divorced from theories or visions are mere isolated curiosities. Thomas Sowell divorce vision curiosity Both free speech rights and property rights belong legally to individuals, but their real function is social, to benefit vast numbers of people who do not themselves exercise these rights. Thomas Sowell real exercise numbers Groups that rose from poverty to prosperity seldom did so by having their own racial or ethnic leaders to follow. Thomas Sowell groups leader rose The fact that the market is not doing what we wish it would do is no reason to automatically assume that the government would do better. Thomas Sowell government wish facts The murder of a dozen innocent people is unquestionably a human tragedy. But that is no excuse for reacting blindly by preventing hundreds of thousands of other people from defending themselves against meeting the same fate. Thomas Sowell fate tragedy people We're not a socialist country, because the socialists believe in government ownership in the means of production, but the fascists believe that the government should have private ownership and the politicians should tell people how to run the businesses. So that's the route we seem to be going. Thomas Sowell running believe country Most problems, decisions, and performances are multidimensional, but somehow the results have to be reduced to a few key indicators which are to be institutionally rewarded or penalized... The need to reduce the indicators to a manageable few is based not only on the need to conserve the time (and sanity) of those who assign rewards and penalties, but also to provide those subject to these incentives with some objective indication of what their performance is expected to be and how it will be judged... key indicators can never tell the whole story. Thomas Sowell keys decision needs One of the beauties of an economy coordinated by price movements is that nobody has to understand it in order for it to work. Thomas Sowell economy movement order What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long. Thomas Sowell libertarian-party government long Most intellectuals outside the field of economics show remarkably little interest in learning even the basic fundamentals of economics. Yet they do not hesitate to make sweeping pronouncements about the economy in general, businesses in particular, and the many issues revolving around what is called 'income distribution'. Thomas Sowell income-distribution issues fundamentals In short, killing the goose that lays the golden egg is a viable political strategy, so long as the goose does not die before the next election and no one traces the politicians’ fingerprints on the murder weapon. Thomas Sowell eggs political long Benedict Arnold was a war hero, wounded in battle--before he turned against his country. Hitler was likewise a decorated and wounded veteran of the First World War. Being a war hero is not a lifetime...exempt[ion]...from responsibility for what you do thereafter. Thomas Sowell hero war country However widespread the desire to be free, that is wholly different from a desire to live in a society where others are free. Thomas Sowell desire-to-live different desire 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 scarcity lessons politics The real goal should be reduced government spending, rather than balanced budgets achieved by ever rising tax rates to cover ever rising spending. Thomas Sowell government real goal Some people say that taxes are the price we pay for civilization. But the runaway taxes of our time are the price we pay for being gullible. Thomas Sowell pay civilization people You may scoff at the Tooth Fairy if you like. But the Tooth Fairy's approach has gotten more politicians elected than any economist's analysis. Thomas Sowell teeth analysis political 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" to consider. There are, of course, noneconomic values. Indeed, there are only noneconomic values. Economics is not a value itself but merely a method of trading off one value against another. Thomas Sowell method economics financial The time is long overdue to stop looking for progress through racial or ethnic leaders. Such leaders have too many incentives to promote polarizing attitudes and actions that are counterproductive for minorities and disastrous for the country. Thomas Sowell attitude long country
