Quote 34 from Sowell's "A Conflict of Visions"

An unfortunate implication of Sowell's A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles is that:

In the unconstrained vision, individualism refers to (1) the right of ordinary individuals to participate in the articulated decisions of collective entities, and (2) of those with the requisite wisdom and virtue to have some exemption from either systemic or organized social constraints.

Among contemporary followers of the unconstrained vision, individualism likewise centers on exemption of moral and intellectual pioneers from social pressures or even, in some cases, from laws. For example, conscientious objections to military service, or military advocacy of violence in the face of perceived social injustice, are among the exemptions Ronald Dworkin justifies, while denying that racial segregationists have any corresponding rights to violate civil rights laws. [pg. 165]

In short, this is do as I say, not as I do. Kind of a hallmark of stuff like global warming conferences and school lunch programs, wouldn't you say?

Comments

[Maricruz]

I too took an economics cosure once, and walked out thinking most economists are idiots.I haven't read Sowell's book, but I have read numerous articles by him. He is a towering intellect, and I respect him.One book I would recommend is Econned, by Yves Smith. She's the propietor of Naked Capitalism, one of the most influential economic blogs. It's a fascinating read, as she delves into the origins of the current crisis, which centers around the failure of economists to grasp the effect of their flawed theories.It would be interesting to compare and contrast these two books.

[Dave Tufte]

Thanks. I'll add that to my reading list.