Thomas Sowell Translates Political Rhetoric

[AmandaFeetJeansFan]

Isn't it kind of sickening how absolutely relevant that stuff is TO THIS DAY? I missed the first bit and only when I read a comment did I realize that was from 1985. It's not so much that he's a prophet (which he is) but that the rhetoric they use NEVER CHANGES.

[louiethegreater]

Sowell is just another one of those corporate sponsered con artist who is sent into the lecture circit by Hoover. Nothing more nothing less. Friedman is the same, they are assigned the task of convincing the amerian people that corporate interests trumps society's interests. Don Trump has it right a 50% tariff on Chinese goods would would revolutionize production in America. Those 20 million unemployed world race back to work, and become taxpayers again, instead of a drain on government.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater you may be one of the dumbest people on youtube which is quite an accomplishment.

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell What? may statement over your head, want it spoon fed to you. First you must assure me that your IQ is over 50, it appears that it isn't.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater wow thats quite a comeback, but im not here to defend my iq, im not as insecure as you, and based on the statement youve made I already know im smarter than you...only a fool would trust donald trump whose own clothing line is manufactured in china, now why would he want a tariff on his own merchandise? perhaps as a way to charge more for his clothing? this is just speculation...anyone with understanding in economics knows tariffs are bad for consumers.

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell Allow me to correct your last statement, you mean anyone with a through brainwashing in economics would believe that tariffs are bad. The country produced the greatest middleclass in the world, under the economics of protectionist capitalism.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater thank you for validating my first statement that you are the one of the dumbest people on youtube. no logic or reasoning will help you. protectionism hurts poorer nations as in africa and south america, similarly minimum wage laws hurt poor people in america, but you probably support those too. stop being a tool and go study economics!

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell I am an American, not an African, or a Latino. I do not support the transfer of the wealth of the ameican middleclass (my countrymen) to multinational corporations, and Wall Street. I hope you do not believe the thirdworld is getting richer. Heres how it works; Warren Buffet adds 10 billion dollars, to his fortune, and a Mexican Factory worker lives in a shack built out of the shipping cartons the factory discards. No sanitaton, no clean water.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater you just keep getting dumber and dumber with every statement. it truly is incredible. nobody is talking about the transfer of wealth to those 'evil' "multi national coporations". tariffs would NOT bring manufacturing plants back to america you ignorant twat. it's because of protectionism that those 'evil' multinational corporations keep getting bigger and wealthier, not that I'm opposed to wealth. protectionism eliminates the little competitors. tariffs mean YOU pay more. TOOL!

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell You are most definitly talking about the transfur of weath to the coffers of Wall St, and Goldman Sachs. You are just to morbidly stupid to realize what is going on, right before your ignorant, dim witted eyes. Tariffs gives domestic manufacuring opportunity to compete against slave labor, and manufacturers that pillage the enviroment. What form of ignorance do you pacify yourself with daily, that you could overlook the enviroment you live in. You must be phenomenally dim witted.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater importing goods from other countries helps them get out of poverty. it's because of morons like you that poor countries continue to stay poor with your tariffs and regulations. outsourcing does NOT hurt american workers. those jobs are replaced and americans find better ones. it shouldn't be called protectionism because it protects no one. millions of tonnes of food have been wasted during times of poverty due to protectionist laws just in america during the depression. TWAT!

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell The US was founded on protectionist capitalism, not laissez-faire capitalism.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater I guess we do owe our independence thanks to "protectionism" without the laws and taxes imposed by the british, the boston tea party wouldn't have been formed!

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell Comedy from a mental retard, the British would have been content to supply the needs of the colonist forever, if the founders in their wisdom would not have imposed protectionism on the american economy. You are such a pathetic example of stupidity based on arrogance. You are to arrogant to realize how uninformed you really are.

[HanStanwell]

@louiethegreater by the way mercantilism, which is form of protectionism, was the cause of frequent wars in western europe. free trade = peace between nations

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell Look dingbat, what caused these wars; Grenada, Haiti, Bosnia, Iraq, Afganistan, heres a hint ---- because you are probably to slow to get it without a hint. These are unconstitutional wars waged by the U.S. to remove nationalist leaders, in order to replace them with leaders friendly to free trade and neo-liberalism. Which is the vehicle driving globalizaton. You ignorant moron, that is not peace between nations. How morbidly ignorant can you be, and function.

[louiethegreater]

@HanStanwell You are not studying economics, you are getting a good globalist brainwashing. You must be one of those functionial morons, to believe that the U.S. economy was not founded on protectionism. If it were not why would the U.S. have passed some 50 or so tariffs laws over our history. The first being the Hamilton Tariff Act of 1789. You are a dim witted, slow learing moron if you are stupid enonugh to allow some globalist to tell you otherwise.

[Lipsnx4u]

Love the music. Thank you, for posting this.

[iron2468]

Dr. Thomas Sowell for President!!

[23mungo]

It's Obama, or its America. You can't have both.

[USPSAman]

OMG found "new innovation" in my college textbook today. -_- 

[mixmastermeeks]

LOL about the definitions of People's Republic and National Liberation Organizations.

[C26156172]

So true and so funny...

[HorizonX5]

I enjoyed Demonstration: A riot by people you agree with. Mob Violence: A riot by people you disagree with.

[goPistons06]

he's so right with people's rebublics and national liberation movements

[revelationmd]

The man is a genius. As relevant today as when it was penned in 1985.

[olga2415]

I have loved reading Thomas Sowell's Editorials. He is the only one that makes consistent sense and can see through the chaff of political rhetoric. He clearly knew that the "Anointed" were trying to impose their wills on everyone.

[indianseibel123]

Thank you, for a look into one of the greatest economic minds of our time. Great song.

[Coowallsky]

This list was in his book "Compassion vs. Guilt" and excerpted to the National Review article credited at the beginning of the video.

[Sam26100]

Actually I think I'll fav this one, it's awesome

Great job, fellow objectivist

[Sam26100]

Great video, nice music for intro

[TimeWarp66]

3:00

HAHAHAHAHHAHA

[rohimbo]

Lol, this video was funny and accurate. Too bad that rhetoric is used in preference to logic for debates. This only shows that most people, including people with advanced degrees are uneducated in the classical sense.

Can't believe it's over 20 years old - but then again political ideas are just continually recycled, argumentum ad nauseum.

Only difference is now "moderate arabs" are referred to under the the title of "moderate islam".

[mdfilmguy]

"Liberal media elite": A non-existent group who right-wingers blame when their idiotic politicians lose.

[jeffmagic32]

studies have been done that show that 90 plus percent of those working for major media outlets identify themselves as democrats, or misc. groups to the left of democrats. Do you think this has zero impact on their coverage of the issues?

[shumich]

Yeah, and all the owners are big, corporate interests. Does the government own any TV stations? How about the poor? It all has a corporate bias. Whether you want to call that corporate bias, "liberal", "conservative", "Democrat", or "Republican" is confusing at best and a threat to democracy at worst.

[jeffmagic32]

the government owns PBS and NPR. Far left Pacifica Radio gets about half their money from the government. The rest of the corporate media survives due to the money advertisers are willing to give them based on expected viewer/listenership. This can lead to a lot of stories about cats in trees and car chases - but that is what the people want.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Have you watched PBS recently? It has a ton of corporate sponsors the likes of which include the large oil cos. The creeds of moneytheism made their way into those institutions long, long ago. Look up the movement to democratize the media in Brazil. Perhaps then you will think about things differently. Or, you could compare your views to those of Chomsky and Herman. At least consider.

[jeffmagic32]

Chomsky and Herman are propagandists - don't get me started on their "scholarship" on Cambodian. Imposing state control over the media will deny the people what they want. I would much prefer a greedy company trying to get me to watch their show, then a community council of some sort deciding what will and will not be on tv. The company wants to give me something I want to watch, the community organization wants to give me what they want to give me.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Propaganda is mainstream and supportive of established power. Tom Sowell is mainstream and supportive of established power. Tom Sowell adores the status quo Chomsky and Herman are none of these. Six corporations own the hundreds of television stations available to you. The Witch Hunts of the Right (Limbaugh, Sowell, Hannity, etc.) are not much different than the Witch Hunts of McCarthy and other capitalist propagandists who robbed millions of Americans of their rights to free speech. (1st Amend)

[jeffmagic32]

Ok, then Chomsky and Herman are Khmer Rouge apologists, not propagandists. Sowell is certainly not a fan of the current order, he supports freedom over nearly all forms of government control. The "witch hunts" as you call them have nothing in common with government attacks on speech. Hannity is just some guy who is saying what he thinks. He has no power over any of the people he attacks. Its quite a bit different to have the government (with their guns and prisons) coming after you.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Chomsky and Herman don't have any opinion on Khmer Rouge. It's Brazil. You only listen to what you want to hear, or what Rupert Murdoch and his elite class want you to hear. Sowell's definition of freedom is pathetic at best. He denies the very fact that American's are so in debt that they have no "freedom" to leave their jobs, speak out against their bosses, or take any time off. The US went from the largest CREDITOR nation in the world to the largest DEBTOR. Owing Red China how much? Freedom?

[jeffmagic32]

"it's Brazil" - what in God's name are you talking about?

Sowell believes in personal freedom and personal responsibility. Anybody can speak out against their boss - they just might lose their job and have to find another. As far as American debt goes, a lot of that has to do with the government keeping interest rates so low for so long, in an attempt to avoid a recession. And out of control government spending. Sowell would be against both of these acts of government.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

The discussion was the movement to democratize the media in Brazil. There's no free-market in the US? Explain the Prison Industrial Complex and the fact that just about everything including religion, sex, and politics are packaged by advertising/marketing agencies and sold for mass consumption on the marketplace. MMM... Maybe that criticism is a bit unfamiliar to you. That's right, you won't hear much if anything about that in the corporate owned media. Too bad. You'll have to find some books.

[jeffmagic32]

the prisons and the prison guard union run the prison in America. Religion and politics are always packaged for mass consumption. Their is nothing wrong with advertising - they can't force you to do anything, unlike the state, which can kill you if you don't obey.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

"The prisons and the prison guard union run the prison in America." Blame the unions 1st. They're only secondary. Prison construction and maintainence helps Rust Belt sectors of the US where most industry moved overseas. Plenty of jobs. Many prisons are privatized with CEOs and workers earning billions. They send lobbyists to Washington and State Legislators. They also make campaign contributions. Guess what? They manipulate politics to push for more laws and punishment. So they make $. SICK.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

It's much easier to rule with consent and reward than it is with force. States that resorted to using force generally governed less modernized regions of the world. Rapid modernization=tyranny. Places where the population was not as educated and couldn't be rewarded with things like refrigerators, cars, and homes in the suburbs. Shit, you can get people to believe that all socialists will rob you of your freedom with that kind of power. Places where mass media couldn't produce good propaganda.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Propaganda is mainstream and supportive of established power. Tom Sowell is mainstream and supportive of established power. Tom Sowell adores the status quo Chomsky and Herman are none of these. Six corporations own the hundreds of television stations available to you.

"""As long as well known black

intellectuals espouse neoconservative views about racial equality and the problems of the black poor, most white Americans will hesitate to characterize

these views as racially Insensitive."""

[jeffmagic32]

Chomsky and Herman adored the status quo in Cambodia from 1975-1979. Sowell is a fan of personal liberty and an unfettered free market - thusly, he is against the status quo.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Why don't you just look up the wikipedia criticisms of Chomsky page. It's not that simple you dope. You were lied to. Find me a primary source written by Chomsk that supports this. You were told so many lies you don't even know what the truth is. There's little hope you'll find it. Sad.

Oh yeah, wasn't Pol Pot on the Far Right of the political spectrum like Dick Nixon? Yeah, and it was the Communists/Socialists of Vietnam who liberated the country. Hmmm perhaps things aren't what they seem....

[jeffmagic32]

read, but don't pay for (less they enrich Chomsky's Swiss account) his and Herman's article Distortions at Forth Hand.  It hides the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and glorifies their attempts at "social justice".

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Hey, what about Uncle Tom Sowell's Swiss account? He's definitely more in it for the $ as he is a MONEYTHEIST like you. "Distortions at Forth Hand" may have minimized the number of deaths attributed to Pol. What I do know is that the thesis of the article was to show that there was a good chance that the public was receiving distorted accounts. Also, you still haven't told me what you think of the US involvement in the genocide of 100,000s of Cambodians. Why didn't they take out Pol Pot?

[kaziqbal]

Wow. I had to pause after every single quote to let it sink in.

Thomas Sowell is awesome, I will definitely be getting his books.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Uncle Tom Sowell? He stole the rhetoric of the New Left. Read Chomsky and Herman's book about "Double Talk". That's neoconservatism at its best. Fox News does it too. It's brilliant but disgusting. Profitable propaganda that seems to make other propaganda look worse. Amazing!

[jeffmagic32]

new left is code for communists

[knucklesandwichanarc]

That's right. Communists lost their jobs at universities and other places and were imprisoned just for saying they were Communists. So much for the 1ST Amendment. It doesn't matter that they advocated more freedoms in US history than Uncle Tom Sowell here could ever comprehend. MMM Here's some famous American Socialists for ya- Zach de la Rocha, John Steinbeck, Jack London, Woodie Guthrie, and Upton Sinclair. You have no clue how enslaved your mind is.

[jeffmagic32]

You missed the whole point. Only the state (which communism always expands) can imprison people. Companies cannot. Here are some other famous commies - Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

I just see more than you do. You miss the fact that big business increases the size and power of the state tremendously. You don't want to see that because you probably can't handle it emotionally. Big business and big gov. are so in bed it's sick. Mike Huckabee has noted that their are 70 lobbyists per Congressman in Washington. Many of these cos. profit when people are locked up. And the very same ppl. in gov. had and will have careers in big business. Same yachts, same Ivy League schools etc.

[jeffmagic32]

you are an arrogant prick with no ideas. Don't talk to me anymore.

[shumich]

You need to listen to him. He pisses you off because he tells the truth. It's sad but true. You are promoting exploitation more than you are freeing people.

[jeffmagic32]

he insults me, then more or less repeats what I have just said, and he adds that business is bad. I get it.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

I insult you only because I care about you and your people. I will always stick up for the underdog against the tyranny of big business and the big governments that they bought off long ago. I just want you to listen. You don't get it. You are supporting oppression and it drives me crazy. It's just like Uncle Tom in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel. Truly sad.

[jeffmagic32]

thanks but not thanks. I prefer the free market to centrally controlled media. And please, keep your racism to yourself.

[shumich]

He's trying to tell you that the media is centrally controlled by only six companies. I know this guy and I'll tell you that I've learned more from far right and far left people on the internet than I have from mainstream pundits. You both generalize way too much about the state of business and government. The result is that none of you pay attention to what the other is saying. He makes some good points that I could imagine would really disturb the way you see the world.

[jeffmagic32]

I am well aware of the state of media ownership. The fact is, the media is now more diverse than ever. In the past, a person had his local newspaper, and NBC, CBS and ABC. Maybe Life magazine or US News & World Report. Now, thanks to the internet, we can read and watch news from all over the world. So should the government come in and decide what we can watch or read? Have them grant licenses for the right to speak to a large group? That is exactly the wrong thing to do.

[shumich]

I side with you on this one far more than I do with knuckles here. Although, there has been a trend towards monopolization in some internet services. The best example of this is search engines with google owning altavista, askjeeves, teoma, etc. Fortunately, there's yahoo and Microsoft give them competition. The government should never step in to censor media in anyway. But what if a monopoly develops where citizens are robbed of alternative viewpoints? I doubt it would happen but worry still.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Making observations about one person in not racism. I can call anyone individual smart or lazy and it doesn't necessarily apply to their whole race/ethnicity. Racism is generalizations about an entire GROUP of individuals. I hope that one day you will see how supportive of established tyranny you are. I'm really pessimistic about it as you are completely brainwashed really. Like some corporate stooge.

[jeffmagic32]

when you call somebody an uncle Tom, you are implying that there is only one correct way for black people to act. According to you, black people must behave in certain way because they are black. So, you are treating people different according to their race - so, you are racist.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

I never said that there is only one way for all social classes of black people to act. What I was attempting to point out was that Sowell justifies the mistreatment of poor blacks. The urban blacks who live in projects and slums. The ones who have little opportunity for advancing their lives financially because most industrial jobs went overseas. Sowell thinks that they just because he worked his way out of poverty, then every poor black can. This is not the case. Instead, Sowell blames them.

[Coowallsky]

Liar.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Actually, Sowell is the one who claims that there is only pretty much "one correct way for black people to act." He states that they should assimilate into white America and give up a large portion of their culture. He believes that the culture of poor blacks causes them to be criminals and dependent on welfare. I argue that they become criminals and dependent on welfare because they don't have many opportunities for good education or employment. Sowell and I are both right to some extent. THINK

[jeffmagic32]

He thinks whites, asians, blacks, everybody, should act the same - in pursuit of their respective self interests. He would argue that the stigma of the "Uncle Tom" stereotype has kept black people down. If a black man is successful then some (such as you) call them an "uncle Tom". Their crime? Success.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Most blacks do succeed and don't turn into "Uncle Toms". Tom Sowell talks in bland generalizations that jive really well with the interests of established power. Like the advertisers who have commercials on Fox News. Or the elite class whether they be black white or purple. He justifies an unjust status quo. Go read black scholars like Manning Marabel or Carson Clayborne for some real, in-depth intellectual views. They're not fit for mass consumption like Sowell is.

[jeffmagic32]

do you listen to him? He certainly does not argue in favor of the status quo. Almost everything he says is complaining about this or that aspect of the status quo. He wants change. Just not the same change that you want.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Tom Sowell is protective of the rich and powerful. He is very popular with the rich and powerful. Black scholars like Manning Marable, Elijah Anderson and Carson Clayborne aren't very popular with established interests. They are both very brilliant scholars who have produced works of history that make far less generalizations about "human nature" than Sowell does. They don't have syndicated columns or release "trade paperbacks" with titles and research that is one sided like Sowell does either.

[thomaserossi]

You haven't listened, nor read Sowell at all. That's why you're making these outlandish suggestions. Sowell is protective of everyone, by allowing them equal protection there are no favorites being played. You're just parroting that classic Marxist rant - protective of the rich. That is a Marxist construction.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

What? I hate the rich with a passion. They are lazy bastards who should be smashed. Have you ever actually read any Karl Marx? Fuck no, otherwise you'd know that Marx said that the working class (proletariat) was going to overthrow the rich (bourgeoisie) and take possession of and manage the factories and government.

PS- Uncle Tom Sowell is a piece of shit. I doubt you have the emotional capacity to handle these truths. So go on believing all the lies you were taught your whole life.

[marcusbarr]

knuckle may have the emotional incapacity to overlook the fact that marx was the first prussian (German) Totalitarian ideologue to conceptualize structural genocide, condoned & enouraged deceit, called the Poles, Scotts, Blacks, "racial trash." Nor can knuckle admit "economic" pseudo science based on narrow observation of fleeting Prussian events, (superstitions) were disproved by the time Kap was published..Or that kap is designed to be too long for "workers" to read. It's a book for banksters.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

You forgot to add that Marx was also very sexist and prejudiced towards orientals. I never had, nor never will, believe in all of Marx and Engels works.

Calling Marx the "first Prussian (German) Totalitarian" is absurd. The Krauts loved to slaughter Jews since at least the time of the First Crusade.

The Christian Bible is full of genocide, incest, patricide, rape, and murder among other nasty things. Does this mean that I can't enjoy SOME of its philosophy and teachings?

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Oh, I forgot to add that the Christian Bible is full of slavery too.

Face the facts, Colonial Capitalism killed more people in its search for "new markets" than were ever killed with socialism/communism. Uncle Tom Sowell loves that heritage. Survival of the fittest right Tom?

"Yessa massa, you's rights. My peoplesis lazy so's yous betta nots give them no moneys likes the liberals do. None o' dem jobs went over to Communist China so's they should work or be in prison."

[marcusbarr]

The Fascists were marxian. ...And even Marx was anti-Semitic, despite himself. That's documented. The split between "fascists" & "communists" occurred in a pissing match.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Where's your sources for this garbage. Why did Hitler throw Marxists into concentration camps?

Under the Reichstag Fire Decree "the German Communist Party (KPD) and other groups were suppressed, and Communist functionaries and deputies were arrested, put to flight, or murdered."

Big business loved Hitler. You know, people like Oskar Schindler would have never made their fortunes were it not for him. You should look up Schacht, Thyssen and other German businessmen who financed Hitler.

[marcusbarr]

This always happens in pecking orders, regardless of any utopianism or eugenics. It's essentiall a wolf pack. Marx outlined structural genocide & considered the Poles, Scotts, black & other groups to be "racial trash." Said "they would have to be sacrificed in the revolution." He had no interest in the plight of American slaves - and disliked variety & liberalism of any kind. Despite his ethnicity, he said, "the Jewish Huckster is created from the entrails of every civil society." Cruel guy.

[newbutton7]

It would be nice if every Black person in America really knew what Marx was about. I can assure Obama would not get their vote

[newbutton7]

Those financiers and Big businessmen would have been the George Soros of their time. How scary

[periechontology]

@knucklesandwichanarc no such facts exist.

[Pervyable]

@knucklesandwichanarc

And the poor are lazy bastards who sit on their ass all day collecting welfare instead of trying to get a job. Isn't over generalizing through complete and utter ignorance of a topic fun?

I swear your worldview is almost as binary as christianity.

[Califacience]

@Pervyable

Nothing is more purely binary than hard Leftism.

[JCJ77]

If something isn't fit for mass consumption then what use is it? The Catholic church used to think the Bible was not fit for mass consumption and so it was illegal to translate it from Latin and Greek. In both instances keeping things inaccessible was a way to control what the mass or masses heard and how they thought. What could they possibly say so dangerous for the masses to hear? The Bible is a liberating document if your authors are liberating they shouldn't obfuscate.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Paris Hilton and Brangelina are fit for mass consumption and they're not very "liberating" at all. In fact, a good portion of politics "fit for mass consumption" is dumbed down and sensationalized so people don't have to recognize things like ambiguity. The result is one-sided analysis like Sowell's. He selects evidence and compiles statistics that omit phenomenon that would challenge his conclusions. The American public is not stupid. Sowell and others should present them with ALL the facts.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Stop making generalizations about "respective self interests". It's so 19th century. Human are at their best when they are altruistic. Read some Tolstoy or Aristotle. Aristotle once posed the philosophical question, 'do human beings succeed by being competitive or by being competitive?' The answer is both. Tasks aren't always accomplished all that well when people "act in their own self-interest". In fact, it makes for a tough existence. Have you ever felt happy because of helping someone?

[JCJ77]

Charity feels good of course giving some of what you don't need to others who do need it is very noble. Altruism is giving what you need to others who need it also and are lacking it. Charity is a moral act, altruism is a moral dictate. In society when you are coerced into helping someone else it is viewed as 'altruism' and when you freely choose to help someone it is 'charity'.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Yeah, and people like you give the poor just enough concessions to keep them from ripping down your door and taking what they deserve.

[marcusbarr]

"ripping down your door & taking what they deserve." What are you talking about?

a) Everybody in the U.S. has a dang cel phone. That's free voluntary exchange, other wise known as the free market place of ideas, goods, & services.

b) If there were free markets rather than a Corporatist Monopoly in Healthcare (soon to be made permanently protected by GOV.) - if there were decentralized free trade, like w/technology, i might be able to afford health insurance.

I'm a renter. Open your mind.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Oh, you're a renter and a Republican/Conservative. Just like Uncle Toms and Log Cabin Republicans, you vote against your interests. Not everyone has a cell phone. But US citizens have more debt than any consumers on the planet. They're so enslaved to that debt that they can't stand up to their bosses or think about changing jobs. And most of that debt was set up through deceptive means like hidden fees on credit cards and ARMs. The more you have to tell yourself you're "free" the less you have.

[marcusbarr]

I basically agree w/much of that except your guess about my affiliations. I don't know what ARMS means. Right, re: Germany. Corporatism is the fusion of Corporations & State.

...VERY FEW Americans are without a cel or phone card.

Debt is from Central Banking - not free market.

Not sure why you mention Republicans, but since you do, it's interesting to note that the Republican party was created to abolish slavery. Democrats were lynching: Republicans - 4 white victims to every 1 black.

[JCJ77]

The only difference from the poor and the government "ripping down your door and taking what they deserve" is title and uniform.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

That's the Weberian interpretation with a touch of Marxism. Weber = the state as having a monopoly on force. Marx = the state as an instrument of the propertied classes used to defend property.

Me, I like cultural approaches too. Rap music as commodified by corporations also serves the function of trivializing social problems like those associated with the urban poor. Young Republicans and Democrats alike believe that the ghetto is a welfare paradise. Not true

How many more prisons do we need?

[ZDWmiamicane]

Have you read his chapter on blacks "Acting White?" It's greatness. It's in "Black Rednecks and White Liberal" (2006 or 2007). Check it out, it's worth the money.

[thomaserossi]

One of the best books I've ever read.

For these times I suggest Basic Economics. It runs counter to everything the government is doing and has been doing.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

Just go on supporting socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. Risk management?

[jeffmagic32]

I don't support socialism for the rich. That's Obama.

[shumich]

It's not just Obama. Politicians on the left and the right support the bailouts. And Bush's presidency didn't really object to it. So it's a mistake to blame it all on Obama.

[jeffmagic32]

sure, Bush started it and the congress went along. Obama has just pushed it to the next level.

[shumich]

Would the Republicans and the Right have behaved any differently? I don't think so. I just see both parties as only superficially different than the other.

[jeffmagic32]

some Republican would have let the free market do its thing, but many would have done a smaller version of what Obama has been doing.

[knucklesandwichanarc]

The Republican Party of old would have. What people now call "Goldwater Republicans" after Barry Goldwater. Reagen's Supply-Side (trickle-down) economics was the pivotal point in this transformation. The Republicans of today are far more favorable to business interests than even most Democrats. They want to cut their taxes, deregulate, etc. And they're just to beholden to business interests for campaign funding and employment after they aren't in office anymore. Just like most Democrats.

[tnyrb444]

Thanks for the great video.

Brilliant Man with a Brilliant Mind!

[sniperontheroof123]

thomas sowell is a pretty good troll

[milfrie]

fanastic!!  I especially love the innovation one...hilarious!

[openyourmind678]

i agree with sowell on a lot. I wish i could hand out flyers to all the black people in my school who think Obama is the best intellectual option within their race. I think he flew the coupe a little on Iran but he's still cool. No one can explain welfare and affirmative action better than he.

[JCJ77]

real newspeak

[dfco74]

Sowell is a great American, his thoughts will shape the world over the next few generations

[lumpagogo]

Here's one: Liberal Judges legislate

= are judges who don't have a slavish devotion to anti-abort and anti-gay terrorists.

[bebeinpa]

Thomas Sowell should run for office-he's awesome.

[affectivity]

One of the best things about him, aside from his rigorous honesty, brilliance and articulateness, is his refusal to be formally connected to any particular political party.

He is truly his own man. And what a man he is. He is a national treasure.

[shumich]

Yeah right, the Republican Party pulls the strings on this clown. He makes, rich bigoted white people not feel racist anymore. I wish that idiot would get his way and they did stop welfare. Then all the poor blacks would be at his mansion tearing him limb-from-limb for food because their are no jobs for them. This idiot propagadeted the ideologies that justified businesses going overseas. Rich, white bigots love him. They don't have to feel racist when he spews his free market theology.

[shumich]

UNCLE TOM. Yeah, right. I wish that idiot would get his way and they did stop welfare. Then all the poor blacks would be at his mansion tearing him limb-from-limb for food because their are no jobs for them. This idiot propagadeted the ideologies that justified businesses going overseas. Rich, white bigots love him. They don't have to feel racist when he spews his free market theology.

[pottersfreedom13]

Everything that Obama stands for is everything that I stand against. I don't care if the guy is green, color doesn't mean a thing to me. Sign me up, I'll campaign for the Williams/Sowell ticket too. There are VERY few people in the world that can string sentences of genius like those guys.

[Beethovens7th]

Ha, I like "competency."

[nachodaddy]

Excellent post. And, has anyone read Uncle Tom's Cabin? He was kind, nice, & INTELLIGENT. The lefties, tryin' to lay out their guilt trip, whine about all these "racists" who won't vote for the CFR commie called Obama.  Well, I'd like to make them an offer. It is even an ALL "African-American" presidential ticket. Give me a choice to vote for a Walter E Williams and Thomas Sowell presidential ticket. I'll not only line up to vote for THIS ticket, I'll send money & campaign for them.

[tarzanofcouches]

You'd have another volunteer ready and willing right here if that could have happened. The hard part would be deciding which one should be president.

By the way, it's obvious the liberals using the Uncle Tom epithet are just pure racists and are woefully uneducated about political affairs. People who name call should not be taken seriously.

[nachodaddy]

Liberals, the so-called open-minded, for the most part became liberals around adolescence & think they know everything, including what's best for you. They have been utter bigots since whatever day in adolescence that they decided they knew everything. And, like a punk-assed adolescent, they can't defend their views, they can only berate & belittle their opposition.

[bebeinpa]

Yeah, where are all the lefties when people threw oreo cookies at Michael Steele? Nowhere to be found.

[milfrie]

yeah.. how about all the lefties that should be saying we should give public funds to a conservative-leaning PBS! They have PBS and want talk shows gone!

[RSLCo]

Sowell is a genius.

[dudemanbearpig]

Sowell is a brilliant man

[lejmb0000]

An intellectual heavyweight.

[enyahs11]

We need a leader like him as President. Term limits are the answer.

[discojoe3]

Sowell is brilliant. Everyone owes it to themselves to read Basic Economics.

[diggingpitt]

In terms of true original thinking and study-- it's books like Race and Culture that define him as great.

[Iambecome]

Great stuff. My fave is "non-judgemental: blaming society". So true.

[rios9000]

Thomas Sowell is such a badass

[ptricky15]

I was thinking that I probably hadn't heard much about Sowell because he was considered a racist white man (regardless of his objectivity) after I read Economic Facts And Fallacies. I guess that is not the case. I love his books. He truly is a great thinker.

[Shorackoff]

Impossible, Sowell isn't white :)

[dudemanbearpig]

According to the left, he's an Uncle Tom

[Shorackoff]

He must be the nemesis of every democrat.

The racist accusations don't work on this one. :)

ps: what is that song called? :D

[nine9s]

The song is "Victory" by Bond. If you like the music, I have a Bond playlist.

[Shorackoff]

ooo, that would be fun :)

[cmeisenzahl]

Dr. Sowell is one of the great minds of our time.

[midnight9wanderer]

Awesome. Sowell is definitely cool.

"Moderate Arabs : Mythical beings to whom State Dept officials make sacrificial offerings."  OMG ROFLMAO!

[koenichfuerst]

Great video. Sad/funny and true. Love the music. :)

[XOmniverse]

Thomas Sowell is what got my dad into Rand, which is what ultimately got me into Rand.

[johnebii]

LOVE THIS VIDEO!!! I love Thomas Sowell. Sometimes i just go to creator's syndicate and print off a bunch of his archived columns, carry them around and read them like a book. I just finished 'Black Rednecks and White Liberals'. What a great book. I have 'Conflict of Visions' and 'Vision of the Anointed' on my desk now in the 'to read' pile. Never have come across this article before now. Thanks for the post. Good job!

[nine9s]

Thanks! I can't remember all the Thomas Sowell books I've read. Conflict of Visions and Vision of the Anointed are excellent. I read the first two chapters of Black Rednecks in the bookstore (because I'm a cheap bastard ;), and Inside American Education is on my shelf waiting to be read.

[NewColdness]

Conflict is great, but it's a little harder to penetrate than most of his other works. He's usually a really easy read with his Attic writing style. You have to sit down and carefully digest Conflict.