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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

What is called an educated person is often someone who has had a dangerously superficial exposure to a wide spectrum of subjects.
THOMAS SOWELL

DAngry Education Exposure Person Subject
Some people imagine that they are well informed because they have memorized a whole galaxy of trendy dogmas and fashionable attitudes.
THOMAS SOWELL

Attitude Fashion Galaxy Imagination Information People
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

Black Lives Matter Era Justice People Social
No government of the left has done as much for the poor as capitalism has. Even when it comes to the redistribution of income, the left talks the talk but the free market walks the walk.
THOMAS SOWELL

Capital Government Income Market Poor
One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.
THOMAS SOWELL

Complain Produce Refuse Sad Time
Everyone may be called “comrade,” but some comrades have the power of life and death over other comrades.
THOMAS SOWELL

Death Friendship Life Partner Power
Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on “income distribution,” the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: It is earned.
THOMAS SOWELL

Distribution Earn Economics Income Literature Money
There are only two ways of telling the complete truth – anonymously and posthumously.
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Honesty Sarcastic Truth
Some of the biggest cases of mistaken identity are among intellectuals who have trouble remembering that they are not God.
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Case God Identity Mistake Remember Trouble
If politicians stopped meddling with things they don’t understand, there would be a more drastic reduction in the size of government than anyone in either party advocates.
THOMAS SOWELL

Advocate Government Party Politics Understand
Intellect is not wisdom.
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Intelelct One Liner Wisdom
It has nothing to say about philosophy or values, anymore than it has to say about music or literature.
THOMAS SOWELL

Literature Music Philosophy Value
Racism does not have a good track record. It’s been tried out for a long time and you’d think by now we’d want to put an end to it instead of putting it under new management.
THOMAS SOWELL

Character Management Racism Record Time
Life does not ask what we want. It presents us with options.
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Deep Healing Inspirational Life Option Want
It is usually futile to try to talk facts and analysis to people who are enjoying a sense of moral superiority in their ignorance.
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Enjoyment Ignorance Moral People Superior Try
What is history but the story of how politicians have squandered the blood and treasure of the human race?
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Blood History Human Politics Story Treasure
When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.
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Explanation Help Let Go People Tuth Yourself
A society in which such decisions can only be made by males has thrown away half of its knowledge, talents, and insights.
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Decision Insight Knowledge Society Talent Throw
The really painful surprise is that so many people based their hopes on his words, rather than on the record of his deeds.
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Deed Hope Pain People Record Surprise
A society that puts equality – in the sense of equality of outcome – ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom.
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Ending Equality Freedom Society
Economics is a study of cause and effect relationships in an economy.
THOMAS SOWELL

Cause Economics Economy Effect Relationship Study
Talkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty.
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Doer Specialty Talker
To believe in personal responsibility would be to destroy the whole special role of the anointed, whose vision casts them in the role of rescuers of people treated unfairly by society.
THOMAS SOWELL

Destroy People Responsiblity Role Society Vision
In short, numbers are accepted as evidence when they agree with preconceptions, but not when they don’t.
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Acceptance Agree Evidence
It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites.
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Honesty Human Nature Man Panic Spread
Whenever someone refers to me as someone “who happens to be black,” I wonder if they realize that both my parents are black. If I had turned out to be Scandinavian or Chinese, people would have wondered what was going on.
THOMAS SOWELL

Black Black Lives Matter Comparison Funny Parents White
Nothing is easier than to get peaceful people to renounce violence, even when they provide no concrete ways to prevent violence from others.
THOMAS SOWELL

Battle Peace People Violence War

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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