Zone1 Stop Listening to Thomas Sowell

[psikeyhackr]

Thomas Sowell? I have his Basic Economics 4th and 5th editions on my smartphone.

"After the war was over, there was a tremendous increase in the production of cars, refrigerators, housing, and other parts of the nation’s accumulated stock of wealth which had been allowed to wear down or wear out while production was being devoted to urgent wartime purposes. The durable equipment of consumers declined in real value between 1944 and 1945, the last year of the war and then more than doubled in real value over the next five years, as the nation's stock of durable assets that had been depleted during the war was replenished. This was an unprecedented rate of growth." |

That paragraph is identical in the 4th and 5th editions of Sowell's Basic Economics. He admits to the occurance of 'depreciation' in consumer durables but never uses the word. The Great Depression followed by WWII followed by the Great Acceleration has given us today's world. But the depreciation of all of the consumer junk produced since WWII is being ignored. Notice he called them "durable assets". The C02 from producing all of the junk is still in the atmosphere.

Euro-American economic theory has ignored demand side depreciation since WWII. NDP does not get much mention. The entire economics profession is full of crap.

 

[Innocynioc]

OP, thanks but no thanks regarding your advice as to whom I should listen. I will decide that for myself. I find Thomas Sowell's statements to be rich in both intelligence and common sense.

 

[MizMolly]

OP, thanks but no thanks regarding your advice as to whom I should listen. I will decide that for myself. I find Thomas Sowell's statements to be rich in both intelligence and common sense.

He’s just mad because he thought all black people thought alike.

 

[IM2]

Thomas Sowell is an idiot who has gotten rich because white racists will pay millions to any black person who tells other blacks that white racism is not a problem or anything else the racist white subculture wants and needs to hear.

 

[Ms. Turquoise]

Thomas Sowell is not some great independent thinker delivering blacks some kind of truth we do not want to accept. He's a black man who panders to white racists to earn a living.

A Critique of Thomas Sowell​

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Given the gargantuan volume of Sowell’s popular writing, I’m going to need to focus on the central cluster of claims Sowell is known for. This is essentially aggregated from a variety of Sowell’s work since much of it is repetitive — the primary books I’m addressing are Discrimination and Disparities and Black Rednecks, White Liberals, combined with the vast expanse of Sowell video interviews and clips available on the Internet. I’ve broken down what I see to be this central cluster into its constitutive claims in order to deal with them in sequence:

1. Disparities do not prove discrimination, particularly pertaining to Black-White economic inequality in the US.
2. Black Americans, especially the worst-off living in urban centres, have a “redneck” culture that was handed to them by White southerners via Britain. It is this culture that produces bad behavioural patterns, such as crime and single parenthood.
3. These behavioural patterns are exacerbated by the interventions of the welfare state.
4. It is these behavioural patterns from the combination of culture and welfare that lead to Black-White economic inequality.
5. Black people are blameworthy for their inequality-producing behaviour.

Each of these claims, as well as the argument as a whole, are riddled with problems of argumentative logic and empirical evidence. In many cases even just one of them would tank the entire enterprise; the sum of all of them is utterly damning. Even in my semi premature academic studies, I am able to conceptualize what affects the black community better than this so-called ‘economist’.

Discrimination and Disparities​

Sowell is correct that intentional racial discrimination (according to Sowell’s classification, Discrimination 1 and 2) at a given juncture — say, racial discrimination by an employer — cannot fully explain Black-White racial disparities in economic outcomes. It does not follow, however, that therefore the remaining racial disparity not explained by acute racial discrimination is not caused by racism in society. Sowell concludes that, for instance, employers and realtors and bankers will make choices about hiring or real estate or loans based on the relevant qualities the individual brings to the table, such as education, credit scores, criminal or eviction history, and so on (this is what he calls Discrimination). People have differences in the quantity and quality of these they can bring to the table, and thus it is perfectly reasonable to find inequalities in economic outcomes.
What is not answered by this, however, is why these inequalities would be unevenly distributed by race.

Why Do People Love Thomas Sowell?

Thomas Sowell, I think it is fair to say, is first and foremost a pundit. He has made his career less on scholarly arguments accountable to the rigorous critique of his peers and more on quotable quips, book-length tirades, and debate clap lines for the adulation of his libertarian fans and conservative think tank colleagues — especially claiming to be an ex-Marxist who ‘saw the light”. Even though his arguments are hollow when you knock on them, Sowell presents his arguments with confidence and frames the story as being one of an incompetent, mean-spirited economic left against a ‘sensible’, objective, evidence-based economic right. When that is a story you already believe, Sowell’s arguments appear compelling, and his demeanour is confident and charismatic. But ultimately, Sowell is better at rhetorical flourish than thoughtful empirical analysis or philosophical consistency.

https://goog.ascryingforth.com/?tid=952429&u=64831224288522739&agec=1661157662&urid=168127593980611982&q=what+blacks+say+about+thomas+sowell&ref=bing

There are three other so-called intellectuals who share the same views as Thomas Sowell. They are Coleman Hughes, Glenn Loury and John McWhorter. They all pander to a White, conservative, rightwing audience. It's sickening to listen to them. I'm sure they are making lots of money telling their White audience what they want to hear.

 

[IM2]

There are three other so-called intellectuals who share the same views as Thomas Sowell. They are Coleman Hughes, Glenn Loury and John McWhorter. They all pander to a White, conservative, rightwing audience. It's sickening to listen to them. I'm sure they are making lots of money telling their White audience what they want to hear.

Don't forget Shelby Steele. It's sad that there are blacks so desperate to curry favor with white extremists.

 

[Oldestyle]

There are three other so-called intellectuals who share the same views as Thomas Sowell. They are Coleman Hughes, Glenn Loury and John McWhorter. They all pander to a White, conservative, rightwing audience. It's sickening to listen to them.

"So-called"? Is that like Democrats referring to Matt Taibbi as a "so-called" journalist? Is that what your new strategy is to deal with people who tell inconvenient truths that go against your liberal narratives, Ms. Turquoise? Let me guess...I bet you think that Karine Saint Pierre IS an intellectual? That Kamala Harris is too?
You know...I'm curious! Just who in the Biden White House do you think is intellectually superior to Thomas Sowell? Give me a name...

 

[Oldestyle]

Whites need to stop telling us that we need to listen to idiots like Sowell. This is America and YOU are free to be dumb. That's free-dumb.

So it's OK for you to tell us whites who we should listen to but another black man isn't allowed to have an opinion that goes against yours? LOL Well...all righty then!

 

[IM2]

Sowell is a common sense advocate for black success

Meaning that unless blacks reform their lives and culture they will forever have to depend on government handouts

No wonder libs hate him

Sowell is an idiot who says what you need to hear in order to feel good about being white. Whites have depended on the government since 1776. so shut up with that dumb bs.

 

[IM2]

"So-called"? Is that like Democrats referring to Matt Taibbi as a "so-called" journalist? Is that what your new strategy is to deal with people who tell inconvenient truths that go against your liberal narratives, Ms. Turquoise? Let me guess...I bet you think that Karine Saint Pierre IS an intellectual? That Kamala Harris is too?
You know...I'm curious! Just who in the Biden White House do you think is intellectually superior to Thomas Sowell? Give me a name...

Everybody.

Sowell is dumb. But again, the only reason you like him is because he says what you need to hear.

 

[Oldestyle]

Sowell is an idiot who says what you need to hear in order to feel good about being white. Whites have depended on the government since 1776. so shut up with that dumb bs.

Admit it, IM2...you hate Sowell because he doesn't buy into your whole black "victimhood" bullshit and he's black and grew up poor! He did what you can't do and you need him to shut up and go away because he makes you look like a whiny loser!

 

[Oddball]

Don't forget Shelby Steele. It's sad that there are blacks so desperate to curry favor with white extremists.

Yeah....Those Toms need to mind their place!

 

[Ms. Turquoise]

Don't forget Shelby Steele. It's sad that there are blacks so desperate to curry favor with white extremists.

Oh yes, Shelby Steele. Yes, it is sad that we have Black people who will turn on their own people. In private, I bet even the Whites ridicule them.

 

[Oldestyle]

As for Biden's Cabinet? It's the biggest collection of morons ever to sit in a Presidential cabinet. From top to bottom the level of incompetence exhibited by this group of people is STAGGERING!

 

[Ms. Turquoise]

Yeah....Those Toms need to mind their place!

They would mind their place if the crumbs from the White folks table ever stopped falling to them.

 

[MizMolly]

Sowell is an idiot who says what you need to hear in order to feel good about being white. Whites have depended on the government since 1776. so shut up with that dumb bs.

How are whites depending on the government?

 

[Ms. Turquoise]

Admit it, IM2...you hate Sowell because he doesn't buy into your whole black "victimhood" bullshit and he's black and grew up poor! He did what you can't do and you need him to shut up and go away because he makes you look like a whiny loser!

Thomas Sowell says what Whites want him to say so he can make money.

 

[Ms. Turquoise]

As for Biden's Cabinet? It's the biggest collection of morons ever to sit in a Presidential cabinet. From top to bottom the level of incompetence exhibited by this group of people is STAGGERING!

And I guess you think Trump was a genius right?

 

[Oldestyle]

Oh yes, Shelby Steele. Yes, it is sad that we have Black people who will turn on their own people. In private, I bet even the Whites ridicule them.

You know what's "sad", Ms Turquoise? That you have Black people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton who have made a cottage industry out of race baiting. They haven't done jack shit for blacks but MAN have they made themselves fabulously wealthy!

 

[Oldestyle]

And I guess you think Trump was a genius right?

Are we comparing him to the houseplant sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office right now? Compared to Joe Biden, Trump looks like a MENSA candidate!