The word 'racism' is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything - and demanding evidence makes you a 'racist.' Thomas Sowell More Quotes by Thomas Sowell More Quotes From Thomas Sowell One of the most important skills for political success is the ability to make confident assertions of absurdities or lies. Thomas Sowell political skills lying Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn't fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never happened. Thomas Sowell vision leader religious Deception is one of the quickest ways to gain little things and lose big things. Thomas Sowell deception littles way Too often the past has been twisted to fit the visions and agendas of the present. Thomas Sowell ministry vision past Even squirrels know enough to store nuts, so that they will have something to eat when food gets scarce. But the welfare state has spawned a whole class of people who spend everything they get when times are good, and look to others to provide for their food and other basic needs when times turn bad. Thomas Sowell squirrels nuts class Mistakes can be corrected by those who pay attention to facts but dogmatism will not be corrected by those who are wedded to a vision. Thomas Sowell vision decision mistake Our national problems usually do not cause nearly as much harm as the solutions. Thomas Sowell harm causes problem Someone recently pointed out how much Barack Obama's style and strategies resemble those of Latin American charismatic despots - the takeover of industries by demagogues who never ran a business, the rousing rhetoric of resentment addressed to the masses and the personal cult of the leader promoted by the media. But do we want to become the world's largest banana republic? Thomas Sowell media leader latin Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation? Thomas Sowell foundation weather country Rhetoric is no substitute for reality. Thomas Sowell rhetoric substitutes reality Much of what sophisticates loftily refer to as the "complexityof the real world is in fact the inconsistency in their own minds. Thomas Sowell society real mind 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 political justice people No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: 'But what would you replace it with?' When you put out a fire, what do you replace it with? Thomas Sowell liberty fire matter The income tax has spawned an intrusive bureaucracy, creating so much complexity and red tape that millions of ordinary citizens have to go get some accountant to fill out the forms for them - and then sign under penalty of perjury that it was done right. If you knew how to do it right, you wouldn't have to go to somebody else to have it done, would you? Thomas Sowell income creating ordinary Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. In area after area - crime, education, housing, race relations - the situation has gotten worse after the bright new theories were put into operation. The amazing thing is that this history of failure and disaster has neither discouraged the social engineers nor discredited them. Thomas Sowell three race past ...Politics is not about facts. It is about what politicians can get people to believe. Thomas Sowell believe facts people 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? and (3) What are the hard facts?. Thomas Sowell cost three self People who refuse to accept unpleasant truths have no right to complain about politicians who lie to them. What other kind of candidates would such people elect? Thomas Sowell complaining lying people One of many problems with survey research in general is that you can only survey the survivors. In other words, if you were to do a survey of people who were known to have played Russian Roulette and you sent out the questions before the time they were going to play and then you come back six months after they played Russian Roulette, you would probably discover that among the people who did come back there was no harm done. Thomas Sowell months play people Some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering that they are not God. Thomas Sowell trouble identity remember
