A welcome counterpoint

This collection of short essays, in many instances, cuts through BS succinctly, and while most of my contemporaries will not find it palatable, for that reason, it deserves our attention. All Sowell expects of his readers is that they have some factual basis for their thoughts and deeds and that we treat each other honestly on that basis. This can indeed be big medicine for baby boomers such as myself swept up in the tidal forces of the political economy. This does not mean that I accept his thinking wholesale, only that it does highlight glaring inconsistencies in what is said and done.

a goldmine of truth simply explained

His short essays were full of wisdom gained from experience. The points Sowell makes reflects his constant listening and observing then drawing and intelligent conclusion. His essays while serious are expressed with humor. Very educational.

So good! It’s sad how relevant it still is though.

Newspaper columns, of varying degrees of topicality. It helped to have lived through the times, I suspect. But also generally philosophical issues, and historical parts.

unfortunately, i do not agree with some of the things in this collection of essays, i did not read them fully, but once i saw the one about china and birth control, i really wanted to drop this book.
it's ok to understand that you can't sustain a growing population economically, and take measures so that fewer get to live in poverty in the future...how can a person who, in theory, understands so much come and blame that?! measures like that can also help curb the rate at which we are depleting our planet's resources...we don't just live right now, and just for ourselves, we have a responsibility to think and care for our future generations. blaming china's child policy from the past is a sign of incredible selfishness. i do not agree with this book, i can't. we only have one planet, and the future generations who get it matter, resources are not infinite, even if maybe the author here assumes they magically come from somewhere...he is not the one to talk to me about the economy then, if he does not get what happened in china with the child policy. i can come and ask "is reality optional?" when you just want to see things in a specific way...resources are finite, and nobody wants or should want for their people to live in poverty...what a limited perspective, the one from that essay. our purpose in life is not to just multiply, and our quality of living matters, every leader should understand this, and care about their people's quality of living, and have some long-term perspective, not just the right here and right now.
i draw a hard line at china's child policy, i believe i understand the mechanism behind that decision, and i agree with it, not the essay, if population would have kept growing at the rate at which it was growing when the decision was made, many, many, many people would have suffered from poverty in the future, it was most likely not an easy decision, but a necessary one.
DNF.

for context, china's one child policy started 1980, and it ended in 2016.

The divergent of intellectuals and influx of hysterical ideas. The social and draconian approach of the anointed. Thomas Sowell is a man alone with the foresight of what make sense in the free market. No solutions but trade-offs.

Another fantastic book by Sowell

This was a fast read of some of Sowell's essays. Well worth the time.

Jeg har kun læst nogle af artiklerne. Det er greatest hits og overvejelser, afleveret til en avis. Det er ikke godt nok til, at jeg vil læse det.

Very interesting, but being a collection of essays, each chapter was a totally different topic.

Funny quote

“The fact that I haven’t murdered an editor is proof that the death penalty deters”

Old Articles, but still valid

This book is a collection of columns Sowell wrote decades ago. Obviously, that means his arguments and examples are also decades old. It does not mean, however, that they are invalid. Thomas Sowell is a brilliant national treasure. This collection of essays demonstrates why.

I consider myself a Thomas Sowell fan. But, overall, didn’t think much of this collection of columns. Best column was one entitled “Media Bias” on page 78 regarding seen and unseen costs of public policy.