University of Chicago economics empirical approach—gathering and analyzing relevant data to answer key questions. Sowell understands that economics provides reliable evidence about human behaviour; that it produces solid social science metrics. Indeed, the great Austrian school free market economist Ludwig von Mises entitled his master work Human Action for good reason.
Thomas Sowell applied his superior economics knowledge to range far and wide in the social sciences and become one of the great social scientists and philosophers of his era—not just a respected economist. It is impossible to fully do justice to Sowell’s achievements here, but we shall do our best.
Sowell was the 5th child born to a widow in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 1930. They were share croppers in the Jim Crow era. Orphaned young, he was raised by his great aunt, who migrated north to Harlem when Sowell was still in elementary school. He was precocious enough to enter academically elite Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, attended by no less than 4 Nobel Prize laureates. Sowell dropped out after one year at age 16 due to behavioural issues—a characteristic stubbornness that would ultimately serve him well.
Estranged from his great aunt, he stayed at a homeless boys shelter in Brooklyn and worked odd jobs. He joined the Marines during the Korean Conflict at age 21, becoming a pistol instructor. After completing high school, he entered Howard University in D.C. after the war. He gripped academics, matriculating at Ivy League schools: first Harvard, and then Columbia, before completing his PhD at the University of Chicago, where he studied under storied 1975 Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. Milton Friedman.
His teaching career spanned the 1960’s & 70’s at Rutgers, Howard, Cornell, Brandeis; and another decade at UCLA until 1980. Since then, he has been resident at the Hoover Institute of Stanford University, where he became one of their most prolific, prominent, and esteemed fellows, writing books and columns; making public appearances as an advocate or subject of interviews elucidating matters of policy and economics.
The subjects that best summarize Sowell’s professional inquiries are many:
(1) Economic theory and issues—distribution of values, impact of government policies and the realities of economics that should not be sacrificed on crackpot ideas by intellectuals;
(2) Race and ethnic minority problems, with a focus upon inequalities and discrimination as well as the effect of quotas and affirmative action, with a liberal dose of criticism of social scientists who hold inane and destructive theories;
(3) Intellectual history and philosophy, as played out in the political arena, attacking the elitist mindset of intellectuals who plot to dominate society;
(4) Ethnic cultures, strengths, weaknesses, inequalities between and within groups that create strife and polarization but also drive subversive policies making causing strife and conflict; &
(5) Pedagogy, learning and language development; a deep dive into the ethnic/racial IQ debate; affirmative action quotas in higher education and forced bussing in primary and secondary education; and the decline of public education into progressive, WOKE nonsense.
Sowell was influenced by Friedrich Hayek in many ways, and adopted free market economic theory of cumulative economic knowledge as the basis for his analysis of political action and theory—abandoning Marxism for its disabuse of “facts.”
The theme of Knowledge and Decisions is that the collected knowledge of society is far more likely to be correct than the theories of intellectuals and political actors—who are insanely motivated by a desire for power and control. Sowell warns continually of the tyranny of power-hungry elites. The concept itself is beautiful in its simplicity. He already determined that knowledge is radically dispersed amongst millions of people who are ignorant of everyone else’s tiny fragments of knowledge.
Hayek criticized the enthusiasm for central economic planning, an absurd idea reinforcing the oligarchs’ sense that they alone can make big decisions on economic matters. This madness was inherent in the Marxist ideas and agendas proliferating from the Soviet Union throughout Europe during the Cold War. Sowell captured this stupidity in the quotable aphorism opening Knowledge and Decisions:
“Ideas are everywhere, but knowledge is rare.”
Sowell here provides a panoramic view of how the world works, informing any careful reader’s understanding of just about everything.
Sowell’s many books on racial issues present empirical analysis and not slogans. Sowell eschews rhetoric, focusing instead upon what was ever emphasized at the University of Chicago—data, evidence, and empirical methods. Related to race and inequality issues as well as discrimination against minorities around the world are his trilogy on migrations and migrant minorities. This is yet another angle augmenting his status as a level headed, scientifically driven researcher. He habitually debunks bad ideas, displaying insights critical to intelligent analysis. In matters of ethnic differences and migrations, Sowell travelled the world twice to study minority populations in many foreign countries. His ethnic studies are displayed in his work on other subjects, but his focus upon minorities, affirmative action and the experience of minorities in other cultures is found in books on policies around the world and in America:
“When the political left wants to help the black community, they usually want to help the worst elements in that community - thugs they portray as martyrs for example - without the slightest regard for the negative effect this can have on the lives of the majority of decent black people.” - Thomas Sowell
Decades ago, he prophetically wrote a trilogy on migrations and migrants. He did so to stop harmful policies setting back things beneficial for both society at large and targeted minorities. He did not stop at discrimination, however; he also provided a cogent analysis of the harmful effects of affirmative action and quota policies or ‘special favoritism’. As a bonus of just reading Sowell, we often learn things we never would have otherwise discovered. For example, that Chinese Mainlander migrants to the West have a remarkable record of achievement and prosperity. Sowell shows that it is the culture of the minority that determines success, and that policies intended to provide social justice are sometimes poorly conceived and executed:
“People who came here a hundred years ago usually did so in order to fit within the framework of America and become Americans. Some still do. But man come from a very different cultural background - and our own multiculturalism dogmas and grievances industry work to keep them foreign and resentful of Americans who have achieved more than they have.” - Thomas Sowell
Perhaps his most important achievements are his work on economics, philosophy, politics, and the corrupting influence of intellectuals. His ideas on philosophy and economics and their intersection are all through his essays and books; but there is a foundational trilogy making him the pre-eminent authority on ideas and politics: A Conflict of Visions (1987), The Vision of the Anointed (1995), and The Quest For Cosmic Justice (1999). Sowell uses plain talk elevating our thinking without insulting us. He believes that wisdom surrounds us and is—in practice and theory—leery of intellectual pretensions. He therefore writes so that lay people can understand him, applying the maxim that if our theory cannot be explained to a bus driver, then we do not understand our own theory.
Sowell asserts that there are basically two types of people; two resulting attitudes in people similarly informed and well intentioned but always found on opposite sides of any debate. This is because fundamentally different visions of human nature divide us. Our politics and attitudes split us and are the motives we see in the U.S. Constitution of 1787 as opposed to its French counterpart of 1793.
The three books on ideas and political philosophy use this basic premise to explain real world politics, government, and approaches to economic and social problems. Sowell pulls no punches taking down the elites, oligarchs, and intellectuals who are tyrants in waiting. Finally, he explains the trap that social justice advocates have laid for society. He expresses contempt for the utopian social scientists who impose their will upon society to create a WOKE Orwellian nightmare for the rest of us:
“The barbarians are not at the gates, they are inside the gates, and have academic tenure, judicial appointments, government grants, and control of the movies, TV and other media.” - Thomas Sowell
One of Sowell’s most important lessons is that much of Western political debate is predicated upon one of these two predominant worldviews: the constrained and unconstrained visions. For Sowell, amelioration of human social problems is both unrealistic and unattainable. The best we can do is reduce such problems by leaving individuals, groups, or associations to work out compromise as they see fit—given that they are best positioned to know how certain actions will affect their lives in both the short and long run. This is preferable to the presumed expertise of elites who lack the history or institutional knowledge necessary to chart a best course from a litany of options, or—when compromise is ineffective due to the size and complexity of problems—carefully enacting and implementing policies that do not worsen social problems. As Sowell puts it,
“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”
Sowell also posits that brilliance in one domain does not mean that one is qualified to speak authoritatively in others. For example, computing magnate Bill Gates knows much about marketing personal computers and software, but this does not make him an expert on viruses, vaccines, the environment, or the exigency of global depopulation. As Sowell quips:
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.”
Knowledge in society is dispersed widely, both across individuals and time, having been attained through trial and error across many generations, but often unequally among the various peoples of the world and among individuals within specific communities. Only the most arrogant of us believe that all knowledge is somehow resident in ourselves or within a select class of enlightened human beings informed only by unaided reason.
According to Sowell, a theory about how human beings should behave because of some policy enacted into law will never correspond to reality since people are not “inert blocks of wood”. Politicians may pass any number of laws and bureaucrats might deploy all sorts of rules; but it is irrational to expect people to respond to such rules uniformly. Humans respond to incentives based upon where we are in life, our cultural orientations, and various other constraints:
“The aim of much gun control legislation, for instance, is supposedly to keep firearms out of the hands of those who would use them for nefarious purposes. The laws themselves, however, are typically aimed at the transaction between legitimate gun sellers and potential lawful purchasers. At no point does it appear that lawmakers even consider that there would be illegitimate gun sellers and potential lawless, i.e. criminals, purchasers who make a mockery of the law. That is, insofar as the criminal who desires a firearm is forbidden from lawfully purchasing one, he will seek to obtain one illegitimately in whatever way he can.”
Having absorbed these lessons with several supporting examples, we are able to consume social science data more critically. Attempts to illicit emotions and provoke unthinking social action will give way to calm, measured analysis that does its best to consider a host of outcomes. Facts will matter much more than feelings. Interest in Sowell’s vast body of work thus promises better long-term outcomes for Western society and culture, particularly if we go beyond mere reactions to engage with Sowell’s ideas, and begin to share a new understanding of politics and economics.
Thomas Sowell’s critique of bureaucracy is particularly consistent, searing, and more relevant than ever today:
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” - Thomas Sowell
Such insights resonate powerfully across borders, offering lessons for Canada as much as for Americans. As we have seen, Sowell’s intellectual journey was remarkable. Initially a Marxist, his views shifted dramatically during a stint at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he witnessed how government welfare programs only compounded poverty. This transformation launched him as a staunch advocate of free-market economics and an unflappable critic of expansive government.
Sowell’s work underscores his belief in personal responsibility and the perils of government overreach. His observations hold profound relevance for Canada, a nation grappling with the consequences of unchecked bureaucracy and policies that place ideology above practical outcomes. As a black professor from the Deep South and Harlem, teaching at Ivy League Colleges during the rise of affirmative action, Sowell saw how such well-intentioned policies demeaned highly qualified individuals. Ironically, this was done by casting doubt upon their achievements. In Affirmative Action Around The World, Sowell argues that these programs often harm the very groups they aim to help. In Canada, where debates over DEI dominate policy discourse, Sowell’s insights offer a cautionary tale about the harm and injustice caused by identity politics:
“Anyone who studies the history of ideas should notice how much more often people on the political left, more so than others, denigrate and demonize those who disagree with them - instead of answering their arguments.” - Thomas Sowell
Sowell’s writing smolders with an underlying moral righteousness leavened by his good humour and decency, even as he excoriates leftist fallacies and the hypocrites who propagate them. His best known talent might be his ability to spring load complex issues into pithy, unforgettable, often witty aphorisms. His work brims with clarity and moral conviction, offering a rare marriage of intellectual rigour and accessibility. Sowell thereby elicits profound feelings of gratitude for his expository gifts, depth, fairness, and ability to get to the heart of the matter. Here are some of his greatest hits:
On moral values and freedom:
“Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some and the path of least resistance by others. Neither can sustain society.”
“Freedom has cost too much blood and agony to be relinquished at the cheap price of rhetoric.”
On socialism and the welfare state:
“Socialism has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.”
“The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of elites.”
“The real goal should be to reduce government spending, rather than increasing tax rents to cover ever-rising spending.”
On Bureaucracy:
“You’ll never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats, procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.”
“Open-ended demands are a mandate for ever-expanding budgets and powers.”
Education is another of Sowell’s enduring concerns. He decried the ideological indoctrination replacing genuine learning in many schools, observing that:
“Too much of what is called education is little more than an expensive isolation from reality.” - Thomas Sowell
This critique resonates in Canada, where debates over curricula mirror those in the U.S., raising valid questions about how education is shaping young minds.
Sowell’s keen observations stem from a deep belief in the value of freedom—to succeed, to fail, to learn from our experiences, and to resist encroachments of overbearing governments. He warns against the moral hazards of dependency, whether through welfare programs or top-down technocratic panaceas. Such critiques are not merely academic; but reflect a profound understanding of human nature and societal dynamics:
“It is far easier to concentrate power than to concentrate knowledge. That is why so much social engineering backfires and why so many despots have led their countries into disasters.” - Thomas Sowell
Today, Canada stands at a crossroads. Our ballooning bureaucracies, polarized politics, and strained public finances illustrate many of the challenges which Sowell has spent his life dissecting. His calls for individual responsibility, limited government, and preservation of freedom are perhaps even more urgent here than in America.
In 2025, we must strive for political and administrative leadership rooted in the timeless principles Sowell has championed for over 50 years.
Thankfully, at nearly 95 years of age, Sowell has lived to see a patriotic revival in his own country. He has earned it, having published more books after the age of 80 than many people have read in their entire lifetimes. If Sowell happens to be watching current affairs in Canada, then we pray he will also witness the dawn of a new conservative era here in Canada.
God knows—it is long overdue.
