Thomas Sowell is an American economist and social theorist. He is currently a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Sowell has worked at various universities, most notably Cornell University and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked for the Urban Institute, a Washington D.C based think tank that carries out social and economic policy research.
Sowell is also a writer and columnist who explicitly writes about economic and socio-political issues. He has written more than thirty books in his lifetime. Sowell primarily writes on economic subjects, generally advocating a free-market approach to capitalism. He is a strong critic of Marxian economic policies.
1 The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. -Thomas Sowell
The resources in this world are limited and scarce. Unless we learn to use them in a sustainable and thoughtful manner, we’ll always lack the things that we need.
2 There are few things more dishonorable than misleading the young. -Thomas Sowell
The youth are the most impressionable in the general public. They can easily be influenced and manipulated. There’s nothing more wrong than using their vulnerability to lead them to a wrongful path.
3 It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance. -Thomas Sowell
It is often said that ignorance is bliss. And most of us choose to live in ignorance so as to not disturb our blissful lives. It takes great knowledge and integrity of character to even accept our own ignorant lifestyles.
4 People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do. -Thomas Sowell
Those with immense free time in their hands have a habit of disturbing those who have work to do. One needs to respect another person’s precious time and avoid wasting it.
5 The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best. -Thomas Sowell
Our society is run by people who make decisions for the masses. It is they who decide what is best for the people. It’s not always about what is best, but who should have the authority to decide what is best.
6 There are only two ways of telling the complete truth – anonymously and posthumously. -Thomas Sowell
The truth cannot always be digested by the people. They will try to attack you and vilify you if you choose to speak the truth. The only people who can tell the truth without fear are the dead or the ones who can hide their identity.
7 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
One who holds on to his flawed beliefs even when confronted with indisputable facts is foolish. Learn to listen to different opinions and analyse facts and only then make a decision. A narrow mind will always be closed to sensible ideas.
8 Facts divorced from theories or visions are mere isolated curiosities. -Thomas Sowell
If a theory, however elaborate, is not backed up by facts then it is merely an impractical conjecture. Facts are the foundational blocks upon which any theory should be built.
9 The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses, it is about the egos of the elites. -Thomas Sowell
The decisions made by the elite and powerful politicians are often meant for their own good instead of the peoples. The elite will always try to undermine the rights of the masses to enjoy the benefits that their position of authority provides them with.
10 Too much of what is called ‘education’ is little more than an expensive isolation from reality. -Thomas Sowell
The modern system of education has been reduced to a system of indoctrination with the sole aim of distancing the masses from the prevailing reality. Not much of what you’ve been taught has any larger significance in the real world.
11 Talkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty. -Thomas Sowell
The boastful intellectuals often have the ability to contrive elaborate tales and theories to back up their claims. It is the doers who can prove their point with actions and not just words.
12 Life in general has never been even close to fair. -Thomas Sowell
Life has always been cruel in its own way. To expect or hope for anything else is futile. It is how you made do with what you have, despite your circumstances, that really makes you strong.
13 Wishful thinking is not idealism. It is self-indulgence at best and self-exaltation at worst. -Thomas Sowell
Weaving up unreal and utopian ideas is never idealism. Idealism strives to make things better in a practical way and doesn’t rely on unreal theories that only aim to bring hope and joy.
14 All of us should be on guard against beliefs that flatter ourselves. -Thomas Sowell
The beliefs that lead to self-flattery and you subsequently thinking highly of yourself are more often than not, highly flawed and baseless. Rely on facts and question everything that you may encounter.
15 Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some. -Thomas Sowell
Without ethics and morals, society will collapse into a barbaric jungle filled with selfish men ready to eat each other up for their own self-interests. It is the humane ideals that keeps a society sane.
16 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. -Thomas Sowell
The truth is the way to help people. But people who want to be manipulative, will tell them what they want to hear instead of telling them the truth.
17 It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites. -Thomas Sowell
The truth hurts only those who rely on perpetual lies. Just one honest person is enough to destroy thousands of hypocrites.
18 The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling. Thomas Sowell
So many people in the world confuse emotions with rationale. That’s where the problem lies. People refuse to listen to logic and do as they feel and end up making bad decisions.
19 Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good. -Thomas Sowell
The Western world has taken an unlikely liking towards the easy way out so much so that they’ve ended up replacing the things which actually work with the things that they think sound good.
20 Talkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty. -Thomas Sowell
Those who only keep boasting often have nothing to back their claims. They can’t act and do as they say. The doers are the ones who actually achieve things.
21 You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing. -Thomas Sowell
The evil of bureaucracy is in the tiring and endless procedures. Bureaucrats don’t care about the outcomes. All that matters to them is the lazy procedures that only delay things
22 Facts do not speak for themselves. They speak for or against competing theories.
Facts do not exist in a vacuum. Their use is to work for or against theories. Facts that are divorced from visions and ideals are mere, unnecessary information.
23 Any politician who can be elected only by turning Americans against other Americans is too dangerous to be elected. -Thomas Sowell
Politicians who rely on hate and violence can never be entrusted to make crucial decisions for a nation. They won’t hesitate to burn the entire country down for their own gain.
24 You need to be empathetic in your own personal life and we help our neighbors and our friends out who are struggling in our neighborhoods. -Thomas Sowell
It’s important that you show empathy towards others. You need to help those who’re in need in any way you can. If enough people understand this, then the world would have been such a better place.
25 Don’t make bad decisions based on empathy. -Thomas Sowell
Empathy goes a long way in life. It’s an important virtue for all to have. At the same time, it’s important that you aren’t blinded by it and end up making stupid decisions because of it.
25 Top Thought-Provoking Quotes By Thomas Sowell
1. The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. -Thomas Sowell
2. There are few things more dishonorable than misleading the young. -Thomas Sowell
3. It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance. -Thomas Sowell
4. People who have time on their hands will inevitably waste the time of people who have work to do. -Thomas Sowell
5. The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best. -Thomas Sowell
6. There are only two ways of telling the complete truth – anonymously and posthumously. -Thomas Sowell
7. 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
8. Facts divorced from theories or visions are mere isolated curiosities. -Thomas Sowell
9. The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses, it is about the egos of the elites. -Thomas Sowell
10. Too much of what is called ‘education’ is little more than an expensive isolation from reality. -Thomas Sowellq
11. Talkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty. -Thomas Sowell
12. Life in general has never been even close to fair. -Thomas Sowell
13. Wishful thinking is not idealism. It is self-indulgence at best and self-exaltation at worst. -Thomas Sowell
14. All of us should be on guard against beliefs that flatter ourselves. -Thomas Sowell
15. Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some. -Thomas Sowell
16. 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. -Thomas Sowell
17. It’s amazing how much panic one honest man can spread among a multitude of hypocrites. -Thomas Sowell
18. The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling. Thomas Sowell
19. Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good. -Thomas Sowell
20. Talkers are usually more articulate than doers, since talk is their specialty. -Thomas Sowell
21. You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing. -Thomas Sowell
22. Facts do not speak for themselves. They speak for or against competing theories.
23. Any politician who can be elected only by turning Americans against other Americans is too dangerous to be elected. -Thomas Sowell
24. You need to be empathetic in your own personal life and we help our neighbors and our friends out who are struggling in our neighborhoods. -Thomas Sowell
25. Don’t make bad decisions based on empathy. -Thomas Sowell
