Thomas Sowell - An Epidemic of Irresponsibility

Dr. Sowell explains how blaming society is an attempt to relieve individuals of personal responsibility so they can be rescued by government. http://www.LibertyPen.com

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[MagnusIan]

Sowell cuts right through the bullshit. I love it.

[carlindelco]

Dr.Sowell is a national Treasure and a living archive of common sense!

[490310001]

@RipTheSystem33 I'm thinking more along the lines of when someone sues Mcdonalds because they burned their tongue drinking Mcdonalds coffee and it's not their fault because there should have been a warning on the cup... When someone decides to use drugs, become addicted and then blame their addiction on the drug dealer, or peer pressure, or anyone other than themselves. That's what i disagree with and what i think Mr. Sowell was getting at

[RipTheSystem33]

The glaring problem with Sowell's argument is that he never defines what "responsibility" means within the context of his argument. The word is such an umbrella over so many things, it's virtually impossible to argue "for" or "against" it. The word is completely subjective. To one person, "responsibility" could apply to delivering profits to shareholders. To another, "responsibility" could mean not supporting those same shareholders because of slave labor. The word is ambiguous on its face.

[RipTheSystem33]

@490310001 "people are more and more easily passing off blame and responsibility onto something else"

Are you sure about that? Where is the evidence for this? Interestingly, people in authority have been saying this for centuries. The fact of the matter is that exponentially more factors outside the "individual's" control influence their life experience. I think it's disingenuous to use an extreme example of one person's view to illustrate your idea of the skepticism of "individualism."

[490310001]

@JimBowie1133 He in fact does advocate responsibility from political leaders and businessmen. The problem is they suffer from the epidemic he is talking about, irresponsibility. You should probably research Dr. Sowell because while he is a very smart man, he is also very connected and in touch with what is going on economically and politically with this country. he sees through all the crap and lies and explains the situation exactly how it is.

[490310001]

@RipTheSystem33 I don't think it's fair to say he lacked substance and I don't think he's trying to say that there aren't any outside factors that can affect a person's behavior or personal choices. The point is that people are more and more easily passing off blame and responsibility onto something else. I just watched a man on tv claim that society was responsible for his sex/porn addiction, because society was placing too much pressure on him. It's a cop-out and it needs to be corrected.

[43894674126438564036]

Personal responsibility/ you government paid propagandist.

[bearclawson]

It's interesting how polarizing this debate is in our society. Basically stated, the debate is: should the onus of responsibility be more on an individual or more on the circumstances of that individual as influenced by governors? I think Sowell's ideas of personal responsibility are refreshing to many in our society who view laziness and dependency as "epidemics", a term he mocks. On the other hand, there do seem to be grim realities in store for those left to their own devices.

[SupaNami]

@BorgKing001 you're just mad that this Black man had the BALLS to make it and you are still an Irresponsible Idiot, weak up dude ... you're a slave to the Gov. make something out of yourself and look up to people like Dr. Sowell, you may learn a thing or two from this Brilliant BLACK man

[RipTheSystem33]

Sowell's argument illustrates why articulation doesn't mean an argument has any substance. Being a staunch "individualist," his argument is blind to the fact that nobody exists in a vacuum: everyone and everything is relative to everything else. Reality is a web in which everything affects everything else, and everything "inter-exists." Sowell ignores the fact that more things outside the "individual's" control than not affect their life every day. Personal attacks not welcome, arguments are.