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Social Justice Fallacies
The quest for social justice is a powerful crusade of our time, with an appeal to many different people, for many different reasons. But those who use the same words do not always present the same meanings. Clarifying those meanings is the first step toward finding out what we agree on and disagree on. From there, it is largely a question of what the facts are. Social Justice Fallacies reveals how many things that are thought to be true simply cannot stand up to documented facts, which are often the opposite of what is widely believed.
However attractive the social justice vision, the crucial question is whether the social justice agenda will get us to the fulfillment of that vision. History shows that the social justice agenda has often led in the opposite direction, sometimes with catastrophic consequences.
More things are involved besides simply mistakes. All human beings are fallible, and social justice advocates may not necessarily make any more mistakes than others. But crusaders with an utter certainty about their mission are often undeterred by obstacles, evidence or even fatal dangers. That is where much of the Western world is today. The question is whether we will continue on heedlessly, past the point of no return.
6 hrs. 9 min.
However attractive the social justice vision, the crucial question is whether the social justice agenda will get us to the fulfillment of that vision. History shows that the social justice agenda has often led in the opposite direction, sometimes with catastrophic consequences.
More things are involved besides simply mistakes. All human beings are fallible, and social justice advocates may not necessarily make any more mistakes than others. But crusaders with an utter certainty about their mission are often undeterred by obstacles, evidence or even fatal dangers. That is where much of the Western world is today. The question is whether we will continue on heedlessly, past the point of no return.
6 hrs. 9 min.
7 pages, Audible Audio
First published September 5, 2023
862 people are currently reading
4469 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Sowell
89 books5,621 followersThomas Sowell is an American economist, social philosopher, and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he became a well-known voice in the American conservative movement as a prominent black conservative. He was a recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002.
Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Afterward, he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration, and was considered for posts including U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues; libertarian, especially on economics; or libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as national defense.
Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Afterward, he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration, and was considered for posts including U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues; libertarian, especially on economics; or libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as national defense.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 391 reviews
July 7, 2024
Thomas Sowell grew up in a segregated North Carolina. His father passed away right before he was born, leaving his mother struggling to feed her family. Sowell dropped out of high school to help support his family, and later served in the US Marine Corps. He eventually went back to school in the evenings at Harvard, received his masters degree from Columbia University, and his doctorate at University of Chicago.
He is an economist, calmly stating well-researched facts. He is not here to change your opinion, and he doesn’t really seem to care if you agree with him. He simply shows you the hard data to prove that he is right.
This is a cerebral book. Filled with calmly stated facts that are backed up with case studies, each one carefully labeled so that if you were curious, you can delve further into the details.
I am so used to media personalities yelling over the top of one another to get their point across, it is refreshing to have a viewpoint calmly stated and explained. Sowell is anything but flashy, and it’s refreshing.
He is an economist, calmly stating well-researched facts. He is not here to change your opinion, and he doesn’t really seem to care if you agree with him. He simply shows you the hard data to prove that he is right.
This is a cerebral book. Filled with calmly stated facts that are backed up with case studies, each one carefully labeled so that if you were curious, you can delve further into the details.
I am so used to media personalities yelling over the top of one another to get their point across, it is refreshing to have a viewpoint calmly stated and explained. Sowell is anything but flashy, and it’s refreshing.
January 19, 2024
I have just started a degree in economics and picked this book up because I have read articles by Thomas Sowell, a renowned economist, for a couple of decades but none of his books. Big mistake on my part. As this is my first Sowell book, I can guarantee I will be picking up a few more.
What is fascinating about SJF, is that Sowell, like any economist, is all about the numbers, even while tackling the most challenging cultural and economic issues. More important, he tackles issues over time to make trends visible. There aren’t many problems, if any, whose challenges aren’t understood by examining current information. His long view, historical view, is truly enlightening. His conclusions often fly in the face of today’s opinion factories on both sides of the aisle.
Another nicety, and my favorite prejudice, the book is short and to the point. What could have been a wordy tome by a more erudite economist, is easily understood and very accessible for anyone.
For those interested in public policy this is a must read. Actually, now that I think about it, this book is for anyone that reads the news and wonders whether the opinion offered is accurate. -Tom L.
What is fascinating about SJF, is that Sowell, like any economist, is all about the numbers, even while tackling the most challenging cultural and economic issues. More important, he tackles issues over time to make trends visible. There aren’t many problems, if any, whose challenges aren’t understood by examining current information. His long view, historical view, is truly enlightening. His conclusions often fly in the face of today’s opinion factories on both sides of the aisle.
Another nicety, and my favorite prejudice, the book is short and to the point. What could have been a wordy tome by a more erudite economist, is easily understood and very accessible for anyone.
For those interested in public policy this is a must read. Actually, now that I think about it, this book is for anyone that reads the news and wonders whether the opinion offered is accurate. -Tom L.
September 20, 2023
This book is truly groundbreaking and paradigm changing. It stands as one of the finest works addressing falsehoods and the misuse of data concerning issues of inequality, affirmative action, and race. Packed with a wealth of meticulously researched facts and figures, it effectively dispels numerous myths about inequality. I genuinely believe that individuals who support critical race theory, affirmative action, or more radical, egalitarian Marxist ideologies on race will undergo a profound transformation in their perspective after reading this book. Thomas Sowell provides a comprehensive and expansive examination of inequality and society as a whole, drawing from years of dedicated research and his life as an academic. I must admit that Sowell stands as one of the most brilliant minds of our era. Having anticipated this book for quite some time, I can confidently say that it has not disappointed me, and I predict it will have a similarly transformative impact as Steven Pinker's "Enlightenment Now."
In addition, it's worth noting that this book also effectively dismantles genetic determinism and racist views. With the depth of its analysis and the thorough debunking of various misconceptions, I don't think any more can be said; this settles the debate definitively. This really is one of the best books I've ever read.
In addition, it's worth noting that this book also effectively dismantles genetic determinism and racist views. With the depth of its analysis and the thorough debunking of various misconceptions, I don't think any more can be said; this settles the debate definitively. This really is one of the best books I've ever read.
December 30, 2023
I had not heard of Thomas Sowell, who Wikipedia describes as a Libertarian-Conservative. That comes across in this book, which many reviewers describe as a rehash of his earlier works (more than 45 books). He describes himself as an economist, and I was looking forward to reading about market justifications for his point of view.
The goal of the book, stated in the frontispiece, is to define the terms used for social justice and the examine which can stand up to the documented facts (and which are the opposite of what is believed). The facts, at least in chapter one, are fairly solid, though I question some of the authors sources that find women paid the same as men.
I was hoping the author would come around to wealth differences, the major economic injustice of our time. He did in the third chapter, but not convincingly. As an economist, he knows that terms like "income" are not a good definition - a look at the "income tax" of the extremely wealthy demonstrates this clearly. After reading the The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, I was really hoping Sowell would discuss inheritance differences between black and white Americans, but this was never touched. I find it very unconvincing to discuss "wealth" and "poverty" without looking at historical starting points and inheritance.
The least convincing arguments in the book were related to various social efforts put forth over the last 100+ years. In each case, the author finds facts where things didn't work and argues that this shows that none of this will work - a very Libertarian point of view. Taxation of the rich doesn't work, so why try it? The minimum wage is bad, so why have it? Payday loans, sex education, minority college admissions, and others are hit with this broad brush.
An example - he rails against preferential college admissions for minorities (they will be over their head, set up to fail) without mentioning privileged descendants of the rich and alumni, who suffer the same bad start?
The worst problem with this book is that no alternatives are given - this book is tearing down without building up, no answers provided.
I would far rather read a discussion which encompasses history, attempts which fail, and suggestions for ideas which could work. T.R. Reid's A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System is a good example of that - and a far less partisan approach.
In my opinion, and in terms of goodreads, this book was just okay. I spent a month reading it, off and on, and thinking about what I would write here.
The goal of the book, stated in the frontispiece, is to define the terms used for social justice and the examine which can stand up to the documented facts (and which are the opposite of what is believed). The facts, at least in chapter one, are fairly solid, though I question some of the authors sources that find women paid the same as men.
I was hoping the author would come around to wealth differences, the major economic injustice of our time. He did in the third chapter, but not convincingly. As an economist, he knows that terms like "income" are not a good definition - a look at the "income tax" of the extremely wealthy demonstrates this clearly. After reading the The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story, I was really hoping Sowell would discuss inheritance differences between black and white Americans, but this was never touched. I find it very unconvincing to discuss "wealth" and "poverty" without looking at historical starting points and inheritance.
The least convincing arguments in the book were related to various social efforts put forth over the last 100+ years. In each case, the author finds facts where things didn't work and argues that this shows that none of this will work - a very Libertarian point of view. Taxation of the rich doesn't work, so why try it? The minimum wage is bad, so why have it? Payday loans, sex education, minority college admissions, and others are hit with this broad brush.
An example - he rails against preferential college admissions for minorities (they will be over their head, set up to fail) without mentioning privileged descendants of the rich and alumni, who suffer the same bad start?
The worst problem with this book is that no alternatives are given - this book is tearing down without building up, no answers provided.
I would far rather read a discussion which encompasses history, attempts which fail, and suggestions for ideas which could work. T.R. Reid's A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System is a good example of that - and a far less partisan approach.
In my opinion, and in terms of goodreads, this book was just okay. I spent a month reading it, off and on, and thinking about what I would write here.
October 31, 2023
Thomas Sowell is an American Treasure! At age 93, he is still putting out superbly relevant thought pieces on the key issues of the day. In Social Justice Fallacies, Sowell applies his usual "take no prisoner" logic, detail, history, economics, and in-depth research to support his thinking. He goes after today's "woke, everything is racist" culture to outline in detail why these social-justice policies have not, are not, and will not work.
Sowell's work should reach a much broader audience, but it does not fit the left-leaning liberal media narrative. It will be to the detriment of our society if we fail to heed his warnings.
For those who embrace critical thinking and freedom of thought, I highly recommend Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell.
Sowell's work should reach a much broader audience, but it does not fit the left-leaning liberal media narrative. It will be to the detriment of our society if we fail to heed his warnings.
For those who embrace critical thinking and freedom of thought, I highly recommend Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell.
February 29, 2024
Apparently correlation DOES equal causation!
This entire book only passes muster to those predisposed to agree with the author. Thats fine, but it’s not something to be billed as persuasive or revolutionary thinking. There is simply no actual address to any particular “social justice claim” or real engagement with ideas beyond the oft repeated “everyone knows racism was worse in the 1950s.”
Lots of statistics will impress but are never actually engaged with. Again—no address to how correlation is not causation. If you think it is in a particular case, as Sowell does, make the case! I imagine people think these points are hard to argue with, but that’s simply because there is nothing here to argue with except what the reader is left to infer: that somehow minimum wage laws are the cause of black teen unemployment and that Miranda Rights are the cause of a spike in the homicide rates.
Sowell never addresses any of the ways in which a good faith critic would disagree with him. He’s not required to—but it would certainly give his points more credence.
Overall Sowell uses studies and data in a way anyone with a statistical education knows is deceiving. It’s not rage-batey enough to be entertaining or intellectual enough to be actually engaging.
This entire book only passes muster to those predisposed to agree with the author. Thats fine, but it’s not something to be billed as persuasive or revolutionary thinking. There is simply no actual address to any particular “social justice claim” or real engagement with ideas beyond the oft repeated “everyone knows racism was worse in the 1950s.”
Lots of statistics will impress but are never actually engaged with. Again—no address to how correlation is not causation. If you think it is in a particular case, as Sowell does, make the case! I imagine people think these points are hard to argue with, but that’s simply because there is nothing here to argue with except what the reader is left to infer: that somehow minimum wage laws are the cause of black teen unemployment and that Miranda Rights are the cause of a spike in the homicide rates.
Sowell never addresses any of the ways in which a good faith critic would disagree with him. He’s not required to—but it would certainly give his points more credence.
Overall Sowell uses studies and data in a way anyone with a statistical education knows is deceiving. It’s not rage-batey enough to be entertaining or intellectual enough to be actually engaging.
February 8, 2024
A book written by a 92 year-old economist who's been correcting the same statistical and social-philosophical fallacies since the 70s and 80s would be expected to be out of touch, frustrated and angry, and if they were a bit senile we wouldn't blame them. But Thomas Sowell explains with grace, patience and clarity relevant data that continues to be ignored. Whether you hold hard opinions on social justice issues (on either side and all between the aisle) or feel there's too much information all over the place to even know, Sowell offers in-depth research presented in a palatable format.
P.S. if you've read your fair share of Sowell books there's plenty of repeated data and information. Yet no matter how many I read, there's always some additional research or points that he makes that expands my understanding.
P.S. if you've read your fair share of Sowell books there's plenty of repeated data and information. Yet no matter how many I read, there's always some additional research or points that he makes that expands my understanding.
December 2, 2023
Professor Sowell is a man of letters who grew up in segregated south. In 1972 he left the Democrat Party and switch to an Independent. Since then he has written numerous books questioning the tactics of the Democrat Party and its history of discriminating against blacks in the south.
This latest book is no exception. The Professor outlines his argument with some historical detail and others as empirical. There is much for the reader to digest with all the facts and figures; so he can be a bit dry for some. But all considered it's worth a reader's time.
This latest book is no exception. The Professor outlines his argument with some historical detail and others as empirical. There is much for the reader to digest with all the facts and figures; so he can be a bit dry for some. But all considered it's worth a reader's time.
March 24, 2024
Thomas Sowell gets straight to the point in this latest book of his. There is no finger pointing to the current administration or recent news articles. He barely even mentions COVID. Consistent with all his works, he simply names and addresses different claims currently in the cultural psyche about what social justice requires.
Full of statistics and really thought-provoking arguments, his topics range from minimum wage laws to the racist origins of the SAT to the results of treating "the wealthy" as a homogeneous group.
Another great work from Sowell that I definitely recommend.
Full of statistics and really thought-provoking arguments, his topics range from minimum wage laws to the racist origins of the SAT to the results of treating "the wealthy" as a homogeneous group.
Another great work from Sowell that I definitely recommend.
August 22, 2024
If you’ve never read Sowell before, you’re likely to learn that much you thought you knew about economics and discrimination is actually wrong, and you’ll be better off for the experience. But if you’ve already read several of his books this may feel like a rehash of his previous work.
November 27, 2023
Always wise, I love how the author insists on facing the difficult realities of society and says that we need data driven solutions not just good intentions.
While some of this book is a rehash of other works by the author, it is timely and focused on improving actual dialogue on deeply divisive issues facing our society.
While some of this book is a rehash of other works by the author, it is timely and focused on improving actual dialogue on deeply divisive issues facing our society.
January 3, 2024
Sowell confronts the social justice agenda as an economist. He gets very irritated at other economists who behave unscientifically. Then he does the same thing. Lots of apples compared to oranges. My opinion is that economics is not a science. I’ve yet to see an economist who doesn’t start with their conclusions and choose the data to fit, as is done here. Sowell kept repeating a data point that I’ll use as an example. Black married couples make more than white single parents. What is he trying to (dis)prove here? Two is more than one? Anyways…
September 21, 2023
Thomas Sowell is a national treasure and the info in this book is invaluable. The problem is that most of it was already covered in a variety of his other books. I was really hoping for new info, more contemporary examples, and a better narrator.
November 8, 2023
The author explains the inherent inconsistencies and even self-defeating claims of the social-engineering movement called 'social justice' or its more current incarnation in the 'woke' movement. Refreshingly, the tone of the text is matter-of-factly, almost dry; devoid of the usual ardent rhetoric; he acknowledges that societal inequalities exist and need to be discussed and addressed. At the same time he emphatically rams home the point that parsing these isssues along the sundry axes of perceived oppression (race, gender, income, weight, ethnicity, nationality; the list is endless) resulting in an ever evolving and contested victimhood hierarchy is not the way forward.
October 10, 2024
TL;DR: Sowell's "Social Justice Fallacies" is a critical examination of the social justice movement and its foundational assumptions. It is an exquisitely researched, cogent weighing of well-meaning (albeit somewhat harmful) ideas in the face of cold, hard facts. Sowell argues that many of the movement’s principles are rooted in misunderstandings of economics, history, and human behavior. His core thesis is that social justice initiatives tend to focus on achieving equality of outcomes rather than equality of opportunity, overlooking key factors like personal responsibility, cultural differences, historical context, and other circumstances not owing to systemic patterns of oppression. Some highlights below.
Misunderstanding Inequality: Sowell argues that social justice advocates often misinterpret the causes of inequality. Rather than viewing disparities as natural outcomes of differing talents, efforts, backgrounds, historical precedents, and decisions, many social justice theorists assume these differences stem from systemic oppression or discrimination. Sowell asserts that this focus on unequal outcomes without understanding the underlying causes results in misguided policies that fail to address the root issues.
For these he cites economic studies of populations who are largely homogeneous (i.e. wholly "White") but who nevertheless suffer from inequities in outcomes due to some of the factors mentioned above.
Most surprising to me, was the revelation that even within the same family, with access to the same environment and resources, the first-born child tends to be overly represented in most measures of achievement (such as receiving prestigious scholarships, admittance to elite institutions, success in highly-competitive professions, etc.). Here, neither racism nor systemic bias is to blame, but rather a simple behavioral pattern on the part of the parents, who are able to focus all of their attention on this single child. Also eye-opening were the statistics on the incidence of pathologies and teen pregnancies in households with a single parent.
Affirmative Action and Its Unintended Consequences: One of Sowell’s most scathing critiques is aimed at affirmative action policies, which he argues often harm the very people they are intended to help. For example, he discusses how race-based college admissions can lead to a "mismatch" problem, where students are admitted to institutions where they struggle academically because they do not match the academic standards. This can lead to higher dropout rates and long-term negative impacts on those students' careers.
Fallacies of Systemic Solutions: Sowell criticizes the assumption that government interventions, like wealth redistribution or regulations aimed at correcting perceived injustices, can effectively fix social problems. He emphasizes that such policies frequently ignore the complexity of human behavior and can lead to unintended economic consequences.
For instance, efforts to redistribute wealth through higher taxes may disincentivize investment and innovation, ultimately harming economic growth.
The “Chess Piece” Fallacy: A key idea Sowell discusses is what he calls the "chess piece fallacy," which assumes that people in society can be moved around like chess pieces by policymakers to achieve desired outcomes. He criticizes this view as overly simplistic, arguing that human beings have their own agency, motivations, and reactions to policies. The fallacy lies in thinking that outcomes can be engineered without considering individuals' diverse responses to incentives and constraints.
Personal Responsibility vs. Systemic Blame: A recurring theme in the book is Sowell’s defense of personal responsibility. He argues that much of the social justice movement’s focus on external factors, like systemic racism or institutional biases, ignores the role of individual choices. Sowell contends that while systemic issues do exist, they should not be used as blanket explanations for all disparities, nor as excuses to avoid addressing personal accountability.
Disclaimer: this is my first book by Sowell, hence the rating might be more biased owing to novelty.
Misunderstanding Inequality: Sowell argues that social justice advocates often misinterpret the causes of inequality. Rather than viewing disparities as natural outcomes of differing talents, efforts, backgrounds, historical precedents, and decisions, many social justice theorists assume these differences stem from systemic oppression or discrimination. Sowell asserts that this focus on unequal outcomes without understanding the underlying causes results in misguided policies that fail to address the root issues.
For these he cites economic studies of populations who are largely homogeneous (i.e. wholly "White") but who nevertheless suffer from inequities in outcomes due to some of the factors mentioned above.
Most surprising to me, was the revelation that even within the same family, with access to the same environment and resources, the first-born child tends to be overly represented in most measures of achievement (such as receiving prestigious scholarships, admittance to elite institutions, success in highly-competitive professions, etc.). Here, neither racism nor systemic bias is to blame, but rather a simple behavioral pattern on the part of the parents, who are able to focus all of their attention on this single child. Also eye-opening were the statistics on the incidence of pathologies and teen pregnancies in households with a single parent.
Affirmative Action and Its Unintended Consequences: One of Sowell’s most scathing critiques is aimed at affirmative action policies, which he argues often harm the very people they are intended to help. For example, he discusses how race-based college admissions can lead to a "mismatch" problem, where students are admitted to institutions where they struggle academically because they do not match the academic standards. This can lead to higher dropout rates and long-term negative impacts on those students' careers.
Fallacies of Systemic Solutions: Sowell criticizes the assumption that government interventions, like wealth redistribution or regulations aimed at correcting perceived injustices, can effectively fix social problems. He emphasizes that such policies frequently ignore the complexity of human behavior and can lead to unintended economic consequences.
For instance, efforts to redistribute wealth through higher taxes may disincentivize investment and innovation, ultimately harming economic growth.
The “Chess Piece” Fallacy: A key idea Sowell discusses is what he calls the "chess piece fallacy," which assumes that people in society can be moved around like chess pieces by policymakers to achieve desired outcomes. He criticizes this view as overly simplistic, arguing that human beings have their own agency, motivations, and reactions to policies. The fallacy lies in thinking that outcomes can be engineered without considering individuals' diverse responses to incentives and constraints.
Personal Responsibility vs. Systemic Blame: A recurring theme in the book is Sowell’s defense of personal responsibility. He argues that much of the social justice movement’s focus on external factors, like systemic racism or institutional biases, ignores the role of individual choices. Sowell contends that while systemic issues do exist, they should not be used as blanket explanations for all disparities, nor as excuses to avoid addressing personal accountability.
Disclaimer: this is my first book by Sowell, hence the rating might be more biased owing to novelty.
March 22, 2024
1.5
this guy needs a stats class and to learn how to make logically coherent arguments. cultural geography thing was kinda valuable but one wrong step and its eugenics. ignores the existence of social structures, also never addresses any of the philosophical foundations/moral ideas behind social justice which is what i thought this would do . overall very much missed the point :/
this guy needs a stats class and to learn how to make logically coherent arguments. cultural geography thing was kinda valuable but one wrong step and its eugenics. ignores the existence of social structures, also never addresses any of the philosophical foundations/moral ideas behind social justice which is what i thought this would do . overall very much missed the point :/
December 4, 2023
Predictable and rehashed Sowellian factbait that enables his followers to play a fool’s game they end up winning as much as those they criticize, ironically for many of the same reasons. Responding to fallacies with your own ain’t it.
April 11, 2024
A great analysis of the current issues and also a master class on logic and argumentation. Very helpful book!
November 4, 2024
Thomas Sowell cuestiona, desde una perspectiva liberal, los presupuestos filosóficos y económicos de la justicia social, y lo hace negando la mayor: que todos seamos iguales. Nada hay más desigual, afirma, que la naturaleza, los factores geográficos, la demografía etc. Eso no quiere decir que no se deba luchar contra la segregación racial o las discriminaciones de sexo, pero resulta ilusorio imponer la igualdad mediante una agenda que, a su juicio, puede derivar en «ingeniería social» y que, a la postre, no siempre soluciona las injusticias sino que las agrava. El autor desmonta, a lo largo del ensayo, las cuatro falacias de la justicia social: las falacias de la igualdad de oportunidades, las falacias raciales, las falacias a la hora de aportar soluciones y las falacias del conocimiento.
Según Sowell, en el mundo ideal rousoniano del que bebe la justicia social, todos deberían tener los mismos resultados, independientemente de la clase o raza. La experiencia nos dice que no es así. Y ello no se debe a la discriminación ejercida por las mayorías dominantes contra las minorías, sino a un cúmulo de factores, incluidos la libertad humana y el azar. Pero la justicia social reduce «la búsqueda de causas a una búsqueda de culpables». Así, movimientos como el Black Lives Matter sostiene que las mayores tasas de pobreza de los negros son principalmente producto del persistente «racismo sistémico».
Pero esta «justicia social woke» olvida otros factores no menos influyentes. Por ejemplo, las familias monoparentales de EEUU, independientemente de que sean blancas o negras, tienen una tasa de pobreza superior a las familias compuestas por parejas casadas. La trayectoria del propio Sowell, afroamericano y de origen humilde, sirve para desmontar determinados tópicos sobre el racismo en Norteamérica. Huérfano desde niño, no terminó el bachillerato y pudo matricularse en la universidad, gracias a una ley que beneficiaba a los veteranos de guerra como él, y con el tiempo llegó a ser un prestigioso académico.
A la hora de buscar soluciones, la justicia social recurre a los «decisores sustitutos» de la sociedad, es decir a élites expertas que aplican recetas creyendo que «pueden mover a las personas como se mueven las piezas de ajedrez», según el símil de Adam Smith. El ejemplo más gráfico es la confiscación y redistribución de la riqueza, «núcleo de la agenda de la justicia social». Según ésta, «las subidas de impuestos y los ingresos fiscales se mueven automáticamente en la misma dirección, cuando a menudo se mueven en la dirección opuesta». No menos contraproducentes son otras medidas de los «decisores sustitutos» como el control de precios; el «impuesto» de la inflación; o la legislación del salario mínimo. Debido al conocimiento que acumulan, las élites expertas creen ser los que mejor saben lo que le conviene a la sociedad, pero no siempre sus políticas son acertadas.
Y no es que no tengan razón los defensores de la justicia social al detectar lo que está mal, indica Sowell. El problema es el apriorismo ideológico y la falta de realismo que hace que, en muchos casos, sea peor el remedio que la enfermedad. Una irónica pregunta lo deja en evidencia. ¿Queremos que los pilotos de las aerolíneas sean elegidos por representar a diversos grupos demográficos o preferimos volar en un avión cuyo piloto sea capaz de llevarnos sanos y salvos a nuestro destino?
5 estrellas, y pasa a ser uno de mis libros de cabecera. Para releer y replantearse ciertos mantras, aunque no estés de acuerdo del todo con el autor.
Según Sowell, en el mundo ideal rousoniano del que bebe la justicia social, todos deberían tener los mismos resultados, independientemente de la clase o raza. La experiencia nos dice que no es así. Y ello no se debe a la discriminación ejercida por las mayorías dominantes contra las minorías, sino a un cúmulo de factores, incluidos la libertad humana y el azar. Pero la justicia social reduce «la búsqueda de causas a una búsqueda de culpables». Así, movimientos como el Black Lives Matter sostiene que las mayores tasas de pobreza de los negros son principalmente producto del persistente «racismo sistémico».
Pero esta «justicia social woke» olvida otros factores no menos influyentes. Por ejemplo, las familias monoparentales de EEUU, independientemente de que sean blancas o negras, tienen una tasa de pobreza superior a las familias compuestas por parejas casadas. La trayectoria del propio Sowell, afroamericano y de origen humilde, sirve para desmontar determinados tópicos sobre el racismo en Norteamérica. Huérfano desde niño, no terminó el bachillerato y pudo matricularse en la universidad, gracias a una ley que beneficiaba a los veteranos de guerra como él, y con el tiempo llegó a ser un prestigioso académico.
A la hora de buscar soluciones, la justicia social recurre a los «decisores sustitutos» de la sociedad, es decir a élites expertas que aplican recetas creyendo que «pueden mover a las personas como se mueven las piezas de ajedrez», según el símil de Adam Smith. El ejemplo más gráfico es la confiscación y redistribución de la riqueza, «núcleo de la agenda de la justicia social». Según ésta, «las subidas de impuestos y los ingresos fiscales se mueven automáticamente en la misma dirección, cuando a menudo se mueven en la dirección opuesta». No menos contraproducentes son otras medidas de los «decisores sustitutos» como el control de precios; el «impuesto» de la inflación; o la legislación del salario mínimo. Debido al conocimiento que acumulan, las élites expertas creen ser los que mejor saben lo que le conviene a la sociedad, pero no siempre sus políticas son acertadas.
Y no es que no tengan razón los defensores de la justicia social al detectar lo que está mal, indica Sowell. El problema es el apriorismo ideológico y la falta de realismo que hace que, en muchos casos, sea peor el remedio que la enfermedad. Una irónica pregunta lo deja en evidencia. ¿Queremos que los pilotos de las aerolíneas sean elegidos por representar a diversos grupos demográficos o preferimos volar en un avión cuyo piloto sea capaz de llevarnos sanos y salvos a nuestro destino?
5 estrellas, y pasa a ser uno de mis libros de cabecera. Para releer y replantearse ciertos mantras, aunque no estés de acuerdo del todo con el autor.
January 27, 2025
Se lo recomendaría a Yolanda Díaz.
Los resultados de las políticas que buscan la igualdad, muchas veces empeoran la situación de partida.
Sowell demuestra con datos que:
- el SIM perjudica a la mano de obra joven (por lo menos en EEUU)
- el número de graduados de minorías raciales baja cuando las universidades aprueban medidas de discriminación positiva (que, por cierto, empezó Kennedy).
- el precio de la vivienda sube cuando se aprueban leyes que buscan "topar", como se dice ahora, los precios.
- el número de ETS sube cuando se implantan en los colegios programas de educación sesual.
- la raza (en este caso negra) no es predictor de pobreza. Los municipios más pobre de USA son de blancos, entre otros muchos datos relevantes que ofrece.
- las desigualdades dependen mucho más de factores incontrolables por el ser humano: clima, geografía, historia, tradición,...
Muy interesante el concepto de "conocimiento significativo" y de "decisores sustitutos".
Un torpedo documentado y ágil contra la línea de flotación de políticas socialistas o que buscan aumentar el papel del Estado en la sociedad.
Me quedo con esta frase: el pueblo que busca la igualdad de resultados por encima de la libertad, se acaba quedando sin igualdad y sin libertad.
Los resultados de las políticas que buscan la igualdad, muchas veces empeoran la situación de partida.
Sowell demuestra con datos que:
- el SIM perjudica a la mano de obra joven (por lo menos en EEUU)
- el número de graduados de minorías raciales baja cuando las universidades aprueban medidas de discriminación positiva (que, por cierto, empezó Kennedy).
- el precio de la vivienda sube cuando se aprueban leyes que buscan "topar", como se dice ahora, los precios.
- el número de ETS sube cuando se implantan en los colegios programas de educación sesual.
- la raza (en este caso negra) no es predictor de pobreza. Los municipios más pobre de USA son de blancos, entre otros muchos datos relevantes que ofrece.
- las desigualdades dependen mucho más de factores incontrolables por el ser humano: clima, geografía, historia, tradición,...
Muy interesante el concepto de "conocimiento significativo" y de "decisores sustitutos".
Un torpedo documentado y ágil contra la línea de flotación de políticas socialistas o que buscan aumentar el papel del Estado en la sociedad.
Me quedo con esta frase: el pueblo que busca la igualdad de resultados por encima de la libertad, se acaba quedando sin igualdad y sin libertad.
October 25, 2024
4.5 because well, it's an academic book? Can academic books really be amazing like Goodreads declares? :) But I'll probably talk about it to people, which makes it a 5 star in my Goodreads star rankings.
I was a little afraid the reading level of this book would be rather dense because I've heard Thomas Sowell speak, but it's surprisingly readable and is only 130 pages of text.
I'll be making my kids read this before they leave the house, hopefully making them much better prepared voters than the average citizen, like he says somewhere in the book something akin to, if you don't know what people's "facts and stats" are based on, the platitudes that appeal to the emotion based on what feels like "facts" can trick you. Clever word play is not necessarily wisdom, factual, or right. Politicians are good at this. Something may sound nice, but doesn't mean it works. In fact, the very opposite thing that you expect to work might truly be what will help. What they propose that sounds nice could very well make everything worse.
He often made reference to Edmund Burke's quote "Preserving my principles unshaken, I reserve my activity for rational endeavours." You might have an ideal you wish was true of the world, but some endeavors can't make it happen just because you want it to, so why waste time, energy, money, etc. on something that doesn't work in the end? Even if it feels like the right way to do something, if it doesn't help, but the "wrong" way does, don't die on a sanctimonious hill. (This thought sort of goes back to the John Stossel book I just read, I love his contrarian reporting--calling out things for not working, because though things might sound nice, if it's not accomplishing good, then why are we doing it?).
A lot of politicians and people in general want the feel good of virtue signaling, maybe even working to do what WE think will make life better for others, but if we don't pay any attention to if what they/we say and do actually helps the thing they/we say are worrisome, then we can easily be doing more harm than good with a self pat on our back that's nothing more than self-adulatory theater.
"But cleverness is not wisdom, artful insinuations are no substitute for factual evidence,
if your goal is knowing the facts. But, if your goals are political or ideological, there is no question that one of the most politically successful messages of the twentieth century was that the rich have gotten rich by taking from the poor.....the far larger point is that a prevailing social vision does not have to produce any factual test, when rhetoric and repetition can be sufficient to accomplish their aims, especially when alternative views can be ignored and/or suppressed. It is that suppression which is a key factor--and it is already a large and growing factor in academic, political and other institutions in our own times."
"The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false." Paul Johnson
I was a little afraid the reading level of this book would be rather dense because I've heard Thomas Sowell speak, but it's surprisingly readable and is only 130 pages of text.
I'll be making my kids read this before they leave the house, hopefully making them much better prepared voters than the average citizen, like he says somewhere in the book something akin to, if you don't know what people's "facts and stats" are based on, the platitudes that appeal to the emotion based on what feels like "facts" can trick you. Clever word play is not necessarily wisdom, factual, or right. Politicians are good at this. Something may sound nice, but doesn't mean it works. In fact, the very opposite thing that you expect to work might truly be what will help. What they propose that sounds nice could very well make everything worse.
He often made reference to Edmund Burke's quote "Preserving my principles unshaken, I reserve my activity for rational endeavours." You might have an ideal you wish was true of the world, but some endeavors can't make it happen just because you want it to, so why waste time, energy, money, etc. on something that doesn't work in the end? Even if it feels like the right way to do something, if it doesn't help, but the "wrong" way does, don't die on a sanctimonious hill. (This thought sort of goes back to the John Stossel book I just read, I love his contrarian reporting--calling out things for not working, because though things might sound nice, if it's not accomplishing good, then why are we doing it?).
A lot of politicians and people in general want the feel good of virtue signaling, maybe even working to do what WE think will make life better for others, but if we don't pay any attention to if what they/we say and do actually helps the thing they/we say are worrisome, then we can easily be doing more harm than good with a self pat on our back that's nothing more than self-adulatory theater.
"But cleverness is not wisdom, artful insinuations are no substitute for factual evidence,
if your goal is knowing the facts. But, if your goals are political or ideological, there is no question that one of the most politically successful messages of the twentieth century was that the rich have gotten rich by taking from the poor.....the far larger point is that a prevailing social vision does not have to produce any factual test, when rhetoric and repetition can be sufficient to accomplish their aims, especially when alternative views can be ignored and/or suppressed. It is that suppression which is a key factor--and it is already a large and growing factor in academic, political and other institutions in our own times."
"The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false." Paul Johnson
November 8, 2023
If you've read any Sowell before, it's likely that you're not going to find much new in this book. That said, I like Sowell, and I think that a lot of what he has to say is important. So I enjoyed this book. But it's essentially a repackaged presentation of a number of old ideas.
October 13, 2024
Eminently readable and illuminating, Sowell examines the empirical outcomes of various well-meaning policies such as the minimum wage, affirmative action, sex education in schools, and higher tax rates on “the rich”. He puts each one into categories of fallacies that explain why they failed to achieve their aims.
I’ve listened to Thomas Sowell before, but this is the first book of his I’ve read. I doubt it will be the last! Though it is an economics book, I did not at all find it boring. The most interesting parts for me were on ‘Chess piece fallacies’ (people are not inert chess pieces that the government can move around at will to “arrange” society as it sees fit) and ‘Knowledge fallacies’ (the body of consequential knowledge in a society is widely spread among a population at large, not concentrated in elite intellectuals, who often think they have the right to act as surrogate decision makers for others on all sorts of matters they know little about).
As Thomas Sowell has said elsewhere, he likewise demonstrates in this book: the three questions that destroy most ideas on the Left are:
1. Compared to what?
2. At what cost?
3. What hard evidence do you have?
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book tremendously and highly recommend it to anyone interested in social policy.
I’ve listened to Thomas Sowell before, but this is the first book of his I’ve read. I doubt it will be the last! Though it is an economics book, I did not at all find it boring. The most interesting parts for me were on ‘Chess piece fallacies’ (people are not inert chess pieces that the government can move around at will to “arrange” society as it sees fit) and ‘Knowledge fallacies’ (the body of consequential knowledge in a society is widely spread among a population at large, not concentrated in elite intellectuals, who often think they have the right to act as surrogate decision makers for others on all sorts of matters they know little about).
As Thomas Sowell has said elsewhere, he likewise demonstrates in this book: the three questions that destroy most ideas on the Left are:
1. Compared to what?
2. At what cost?
3. What hard evidence do you have?
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book tremendously and highly recommend it to anyone interested in social policy.
January 19, 2024
I'm not sure how to "rank" or "review" this. It's very good. I imagine if someone has never read Thomas Sowell--or been forced to really think through the economics or logic of "social justice"--then one will be reading with mouth agape by about page five. However, if you are familiar with his writing, then this will seem like a greatest hits package. Much of this book was covered in more detail in "Black Rednecks and White Liberals" and/or "Discrimination and Disparities."
His key theme is the limitations of knowledge and power. "The painful reality is that no human being has either the vast range of consequential knowledge, or the overwhelming power, required to make the social justice ideal become a reality." [One may reasonably ask, "Well, we can at least try, can't we?" HIs response would essentially be, "Well, no. Read my quote again."]
His key theme is the limitations of knowledge and power. "The painful reality is that no human being has either the vast range of consequential knowledge, or the overwhelming power, required to make the social justice ideal become a reality." [One may reasonably ask, "Well, we can at least try, can't we?" HIs response would essentially be, "Well, no. Read my quote again."]
October 2, 2023
Love reading Sowell's thoughts. Many of the points of this new book he has covered in more detail elsewhere. Again he denounces the arrogance of crusading intellectual elites, who's policies harm more than hurt. Examples include the damage of affirmative action, to the explosive unemployment among the poor caused by minimum wage laws, to the harm done to society as a whole by taking opportunities away from the most qualified in a quixotic attempt to equalize outcomes.
One new topic in this book is the damage done by schools in sexual education which has skyrocketted the rates of STDs and teenage pregnancies especially among the poor.
One new topic in this book is the damage done by schools in sexual education which has skyrocketted the rates of STDs and teenage pregnancies especially among the poor.
October 11, 2023
This book is fantastic. Many of the basic points won't be new to those critical of modern notions of what is called equity and such, but Sowell has an amazing talent for unearthing detail and nuance beyond what most of us could do and to present in a wonderfully engaging way. Beyond seeing what is wrong with claims as to why the explanations of certain phenomena are wrong, there is deep insight here into real causes of various disparities and differences between groups.
November 11, 2023
9.5/10
December 29, 2023
Excellent. Much more cogent than 90% of what is written today.
January 22, 2024
I got this from the teacher that recommended me the other book written by the same author. It was very interesting just not quite as good or as complete as the economically focused book. All in all, a really interesting read.
September 20, 2023
Mais um livro fabuloso de Thomas Sowell. Como sempre, ele mostra rigor intelectual e a linguagem precisa e clara tão rara entre outros intelectuais.
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