Thomas Sowell ( 10 of 95 )
Since man does not create physical matter, those who handle material objects in the production process are not producers in read more
Since man does not create physical matter, those who handle material objects in the production process are not producers in that sense. Economic benefits result from the transformation of matter in form, location, or availability (intellectually or temporally). It is these transformations that create economic benefits valued by consumers, and whoever arranges such transformations contributes to the value of things, whether his hands actually come into contact with physical objects or not.
Organizational progress parallels that in science and technology, permitting ultimate simplicity through intermediate complexity.
Organizational progress parallels that in science and technology, permitting ultimate simplicity through intermediate complexity.
If the battle for civilization comes down to the wimps versus the barbarians, the barbarians are going to win.
If the battle for civilization comes down to the wimps versus the barbarians, the barbarians are going to win.
No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: "But what would read more
No matter how disastrously some policy has turned out, anyone who criticizes it can expect to hear: "But what would you replace it with?" When you put out a fire, what do you replace it with?
Leaving prices out of the picture is probably the source of more fallacies in economics than any other single misconception.
Leaving prices out of the picture is probably the source of more fallacies in economics than any other single misconception.
With various people complaining about "price gouging... economist Walter Williams has coined a new term: "Tax gouging." But government is read more
With various people complaining about "price gouging... economist Walter Williams has coined a new term: "Tax gouging." But government is never accused of either "greed" or "gouging" — not even when they bulldoze people's homes in order to turn the land over to businesses that will pay more taxes.
It is amazing how many of those who consider themselves "thinking people" respond automatically to words the way Pavlov's dog read more
It is amazing how many of those who consider themselves "thinking people" respond automatically to words the way Pavlov's dog was conditioned to respond to certain sounds.
The anointed don't like to talk about painful trade-offs. They like to talk about happy "solutions" that get rid of read more
The anointed don't like to talk about painful trade-offs. They like to talk about happy "solutions" that get rid of the whole problem- at least in their imagination.
Where intellectuals have played a role in history, it has not been so much by whispering words of advice into read more
Where intellectuals have played a role in history, it has not been so much by whispering words of advice into the ears of political overlords as by contributing to the vast and powerful currents of conceptions and misconceptions that sweep human action along.
The demands of unbounded individualism need to be weighed in the light of inherent social constraints which can only change read more
The demands of unbounded individualism need to be weighed in the light of inherent social constraints which can only change their form but cannot be eliminated without eliminating civilization.