Thomas Sowell - The Vision of the Anointed

Perhaps more relevant than ever before. From a 1995 interview with author/commentator Ben Wattenburg, Thomas Sowell provides insight as to how ruling class elites use the perception of crisis to increase their powers and promote their self-interests.

[@heinconradie4918]

This man's intelligence is stratospheric. I need to read all his books

[@bran780]

Need to buy them before they're burned.

[@JudgeMatty]

This one is in his top 5, by many of his fans' own accounts.

[@UncleMichaelable]

I have about 4 of them. But all that you can. He’s the most logical thinker I’ve come across. Also, look into Milton Freedmon and Walter Williams.

[@mr8ty8]

One of Americas greatest thinkers of this time

[@bran780]

@@UncleMichaelable I have heard of and read some from Mr. Friedman. Will look for information about Mr. Williams. Thank you for sharing!

[@fliegeroh]

So ahead of his time, Tom was and (and is) right about everything.

[@kekesmooth5618]

Lets not get carried away.

[@johnbrown4568]

@@kekesmooth5618 How about most everything?

[@VanLightning900]

He's wrong about climate change but right on everything else in my judgment at least.

[@_lithp]

It is so fucking sad. All this time, Thomas has been crying out in the wilderness. Barely anyone knows he exists and we're still perpetuating the same problems he's been warning us about for over fifty years.

[@williammunny9916]

*_Revelation 1.17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death._* _Jesus Christ loves you. Only Jesus Christ saves. Repent and be saved. God bless you, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family._ ----

[@mjl.9-19]

25 yrs ago and Sowell saw it coming then, from decades since the 60s, and now it’s morphed its absurdity exponentially. Woke West.

[@lm3049]

Thomas Sowell is kicking this guys ass! Gosh I love Thomas Sowell! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@davidhunt7427]

*_The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics._* *_The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive._* *_The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Conservatives there are in their sociology department._* *_Liberals seem to assume that, if you don't believe in their particular political solutions, then you don't really care about the people that they claim to want to help._* *_If you have been voting for politicians who promise to give you goodies at someone else's expense, then you have no right to complain when they take your money and give it to someone else, including themselves._* *_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?_* *_What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long._* *_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._* *_The fatal attraction of government is that it allows busybodies to impose decisions on others without paying any price themselves._* *_The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best._* *_There is nothing so bad that politics cannot make it worse._* *_Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it._* *_Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. In area after area - crime, education, housing, race relations - the situation has gotten worse after the bright new theories were put into operation. The amazing thing is that this history of failure and disaster has neither discouraged the social engineers nor discredited them._* *_People who refuse to accept unpleasant truths have no right to complain about politicians who lie to them. What other kind of candidates would such people elect?_* *_The fact that so many successful politicians are such shameless liars is not only a reflection on them, it is also a reflection on us. When the people want the impossible, only liars can satisfy._* *_The problem isn't that Johnny can't read. The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think. The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling._* *_People who are very aware that they have more knowledge than the average person are often very unaware that they do not have one-tenth of the knowledge of all of the average persons put together. In this situation, for the intelligentsia to impose their notions on ordinary people is essentially to impose ignorance on knowledge._* *_One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain._* *_One of the most important reasons for studying history is that virtually every stupid idea that is in vogue today has been tried before and proved disastrous before, time and again._* *_When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear._* *_The left takes its vision seriously - more seriously than it takes the rights of other people. They want to be our shepherds. But that requires us to be sheep._* *_It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it._* *_I have never understood why it is 'greed' to want to keep the money you've earned, but not greed to want to take somebody else's money._* *_No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems - of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind._* *_When any branch of government can exercise powers not authorized by either statues or the Constitution, 'we the people' are no longer free citizens but subjects, and our 'public servants' are really our public masters. And America is no longer America. The freedom for which whole generations of Americans have fought and died is gradually but increasingly being taken away from us with smooth and slippery words._* *_Those who want to "spread the wealth" almost invariably seek to concentrate the power. It happens too often, and in too many different countries around the world, to be a coincidence. Which is more dangerous, inequalities of wealth or concentrations of power?_* *_The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one's own behavior._* *_The vision of the anointed is one in which ills as poverty, irresponsible sex, and crime derive primarily from 'society,' rather than from individual choices and behavior. To believe in personal responsibility would be to destroy the whole special role of the anointed, whose vision casts them in the role of rescuers of people treated unfairly by 'society'._* *_Much of the self-righteous nonsense that abounds on so many subjects cannot stand up to three questions: (1) Compared to what? (2) At what cost? and (3) What are the hard facts?_* *_By the end of the 20th century, "liberals" had again discredited themselves, to the point where they went back to calling themselves "progressives" to escape their past, much as people do when they declare bankruptcy._* *_We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did._* *_What is especially disturbing about the political left is that they seem to have no sense of the tragedy of the human condition. Instead, they tend to see the problems of the world as due to other people not being as wise or as noble as themselves._* *_Envy plus rhetoric equals 'social justice'._* *_There is usually only a limited amount of damage that can be done by dull or stupid people. For creating a truly monumental disaster, you need people with high IQs._* *_Few of the great tragedies of history were created by the village idiot, and many by the village genius._* *_It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance._* *_As long as human beings are imperfect, there will always be arguments for extending the power of government to deal with these imperfections. The only logical stopping place is totalitarianism -- unless we realize that tolerating imperfections is the price of freedom._* *_To say that 'wealth in America is so unfairly distributed in America,' as Ronald Dworkin does, is grossly misleading when most wealth in the United States is not distributed at all. People create it, earn it, save it, and spend it._* *_For the anointed, traditions are likely to be seen as the dead hand of the past, relics of a less enlightened age, and not as the distilled experience of millions who faced similar human vicissitudes before._* *_People who believe in evolution in biology often believe in creationism in government. In other words, they believe that the universe and all the creatures in it could have evolved spontaneously, but that the economy is too complicated to operate without being directed by politicians._* *_It is amazing how many people think they are doing blacks a favor by exempting them from standards that others are expected to meet._* *_The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white - who find in that paranoid vision an excuse for counterproductive and ultimately self-destructive attitudes and behavior._* *_People sometimes ask if I have tried to convince black ‘leaders’ to take a different view on racial issues. Of course not. I wouldn't spend my time trying to persuade the mafia to give up crime. Why should I spend time trying to convince race hustlers to give up victimhood?_* *_Liberals have been driven to the desperate expedient of attributing . . .social pathology in today's ghettos to 'a legacy of slavery' even though black children grew up with two parents more often under slavery than today._* *_The black family survived centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow, but it has disintegrated in the wake of the liberals' expansion of the welfare state._* *_Racism is not dead. But it is on life-support, kept alive mainly by the people who use it for an excuse or to keep minority communities fearful or resentful enough to turn out as a voting bloc on election day._* *_Racism is not dead, but it is on life support -- kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as "racists."_* *_Charter schools, and especially some particular networks of charter schools, located in low-income black and Hispanic neighborhoods have achieved educational results not only far above the levels achieved by most public schools in those neighborhoods, but sometimes even higher educational results than those in most schools located in affluent white neighborhoods. No one expected that._* ~ Thomas Sowell, _Charter Schools and Their Enemies_

[@shubhamjaiswal2337]

Thank you

[@gherieg.1091]

Yeah, thank you. I copied all that.

[@ladyjas6373]

Every sentence this man writes or speaks is quotable. What an intellectual heavyweight.

[@KaedFuyou]

don't forget they have to win at any cost

[@futbolesvida22]

It's going to be a sad, sad day when Thomas Sowell passes on.

[@Publius-24]

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities." Ayn Rand

[@walkwag]

A BRILLIANT Man and a National Treasure!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🏽♥️🙏🏽🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@TheFibrewire]

Thomas Sowell is so awesome, a true strong man with independence.

[@christianamericandominican2470]

This man is a national treasure.

[@bradbecker8982]

It’s not in the self interest of the current elites to exercise self-conscious control over humanity. It’s in everyone’s self interest to exercise and respect individual rights. These elites will crumble. Ayn Rand knew this.

[@lm3049]

Brad Becker I’d love to start reading her books but I hear from people that it makes sense to read some of her books before the others. What do you suggest? Thanks 😊

[@bradbecker8982]

@@lm3049 “OPAR” by Leonard Peikoff, if you like philosophy specifically. “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn, if you like politics and individual rights. “Ominous Parallels” by Leonard Peikoff if you like nonfiction dystopian.

[@bradbecker8982]

@@lm3049 I’d say it depends on your interests... whichever topic is able to hook you, will be the topic that piques your interest the most and keeps you wanting to read more imo.

[@kimobrien.]

Ayn Rand hung out with some of the most elite at the Federal Reserve bank. She swore up and down that Social Security was one of the greatest moral outrages until it came time to cash her checks.

[@roberthurleyjr4762]

Watch how Wattenberg (?) the host, acts as he questions Dr. Sowell. This guy IS who Sowell was discussing in his book! Know-it-all “elites”!🤣👍😂🇺🇸

[@thenewmayorofcrazytown7392]

If you think Wittenberg is bad, don’t look at the Liberals 25 years later. 🤫

[@candorsspot2775]

it's crazy how he tried to play dumb as he was interviewing Tom.

[@shane727]

@@candorsspot2775 "acting"

[@weed...5692]

I think he conducted a good interview. He asked the questions that Sowell needed to answer - we wouldn't have learned much if it was a discussion between to agreeing people.

[@weed...5692]

@s v That's the effect of the culture of the anointed: their ideas were already mainstream, their opposition - "bigots!"

[@__seeker__]

Thomas Sowell is one of America’s greatest and most necessary minds of the 20th and 21st centuries. I’m so grateful for his work. Side note: he has consistently looked 20 years younger than he actually is for the last 30+ years. He’s 65 here!

[@bran780]

Pushing higher education was merely keeping college 'corporations' chugging along. Too many jobs now require degrees when a high school diploma is sufficient.

[@m.ssharma535]

Thomas Sowell is one of the best thinkers of our times. Able to distill complex issues with so much clarity that it make us think a lot about some of the basic assumptions of life.

[@joemunch58]

An advocate of logic, which is probably why I so admire him.

[@nicolasmoreno9442]

Thanks Liberty Pen. You keep posting these kind of videos over and over again. Just like Thomas Sowell, you seem not to care about what people think about you but what you think is true and worth spoken for. Keep up the good work

[@agent7641]

"You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." Rahm Emanuel

[@kimobrien.]

The problem is capitalism can not avoid criss.

[@grazzitdvram]

one of the best mic drop lines I've ever heard.

[@adamdrouin2295]

Thomas Sowell is awesome. Love to hear his talks

[@bran780]

Oh, how I wish I would have been listening to Mr. Sowell in the 90's.

[@KsazDFW]

A national treasure for whom a monument should be built and who’s work must be taught to all high school and college students. Every word emanates wisdom.

[@elsenored562]

4:22 Sowell: There's a four stage pattern • _the crisis_ • _the solution_ • _the results_ • they explain away the bad results

[@kimobrien.]

Capitalism is unable to escape its every growing crisis' that has been the conclusion of Karl Marx and everyone who calls themself a Marxists. Anyone who claims that they are the first to see capitalism entering into crisis is just telling you what every Marxist already knows. The very workings of the profit system guarantee overproduction and poverty in the midst of plenty. Its this continuous and unavoidable crisis along with the declining rates of profit that mean capitalism will come to an end. Exactly how and when has been debated for over a century in almost every country in the world.

[@dzikdziki2983]

It's incredible the knowledge this man has.

[@phukit5456]

The common sense and honesty he states is a breath of fresh air. What a country we would have if most of our political leaders thought like him. But then they wouldn't receive all the accolades and hosannas.

[@fzqlcs]

10:03 The look that should tell you that Tom is loading up.

[@alsoknownas875]

😂😂😂

[@heuganian7252]

lmao

[@robertcgage]

I don't know whom made this statement: Common sense is a truly uncomment quality. Thank GOD Dr. Thomas Sowell has enough for us all.

[@AkiraNakamoto]

Thomas Sowell is the prophet of today's US politics. He saw through these anointed elites like an X-ray machine, 25 years ago.

[@DoctorQuackenbush]

Love Dr. Sowell.

[@carpediemjonah8110]

Sowell thrives in an environment of truly intellectual inquiry and common sense solution. Wattenburg is hopelessly incapable of seeing his own shallow reasoning.

[@boblaine4733]

Amazing Sowell put the book out in 1995 and it is still so relevant today. And who do you think was the president in '95. William Jefferson Clinton. The book was a warning then and we are right back in the same boat now.

[@dangeraghty6715]

Oh how I love a Clear Thinking Mind. Thank you Mr. Sowell, the world needs more great folks like you putting things in perspective.

[@johnbrown4568]

Dr. Sowell is a wonderful example of the objective American intellectual.

[@FlyingGuillotine22]

outstanding commentary

[@stubby1122]

Incredibly intelligent person. I just wished more people would have read and listened to him.

[@D1G1TALSYNAPS3]

I want to hear the entire thing. Anyone have a link? This man is a prophet. A national treasure.

[@fleetwoodmacandcheese]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZKolGePl7aEjpI

[@Lucid_zzz_Dream]

Wow, the rest of the interview from that link ☝️is incredible

[@DinoMan_6]

Sowell is a good man.

[@KowboyUSA]

The Nation would be in great shape had US Marine Thomas Sowell had been POTUS from 2009 to 2017.

[@kimobrien.]

Just what do you think he would have been able ti do? Continue on with George Bushes Nation building in Iraq? Save the Army from defeat in Afghanistan? Maybe he could have refused to bail out the banks and sent the whole mess into the Federal Bankruptcy court for years of litigation. Nothing like a make work program for lawyers and judges.

[@kskufan]

Wise man !!

[@M17-f4c]

The last metaphor of the concord and higher education is gold! Brilliant!

[@papacap8255]

One of the greatest minds of our Time!

[@makinbac0n]

I'd love to sit and have a conversation with Mr. Sowell. Intelligence is getting harder and harder to find.

[@goodwork887]

Perfect line on which to end this video. Really puts an exclamation point on it.

[@SanjayThuraisingham]

Put all of his Books in the American Public schools and free the children’s minds!

[@themeadowlarkminutewithpau8184]

This and BRWL are the 2 best titles.

[@futbolesvida22]

His last point about the educational system and giving more access has proven pretty much spot on. You've got people going into debt for their education and they all get it. "nobody is herding them in" well, they kind of are. It's more of a societal and social pressure, but they are. And then they all get the education, but if they all have the education it just puts them all even again.

[@KainedbutAble123]

That last line 🔥🔥🔥

[@robertcooper1952]

Dr. Sowell is a voice of reason in a chaotic world.

[@KeithKnightDontTreadonAnyone]

Hero

[@elsenored562]

1:54 Sowell: If something happens, they will explain it in a way which will fit that vision. For example, when they find that 2:00 prenatal care is less among blacks than among whites, and that infant mortality rates are higher, they immediately assume that this is because of society's neglect ... 2:15 But in reality other groups have even less prenatal care than blacks, and don't have any more infant mortality than whites.

[@marillion4th393]

Thomas Sowell for president!

[@hughlt]

The great MIlton Friedman, his PhD advisor, said of Thomas Sowell, "He might be a genius.".

[@ItsTheMunz]

The most suspicious characteristic of Mr. Sowell is how he’s literally right about everything and has clearly been for decades. Almost forces you into questioning what must be wrong with someone who sounds so right.

[@AkiraNakamoto]

I can tell you one of his shortcomings. He belongs to college of liberal arts. There is not much science or math behind his almost purely empirical arguments. I think I can provide some scientific proofs to vouch for him, as I am writing a manuscript to attack socialism (or "governmentism" in my nomenclature) from the angles of computational science. :)

[@cnrspiller3549]

@@AkiraNakamoto I always saw him as an economist first. He says himself that 'facts' are his guide star. It was facts he says, that steered him away from Marxism.

[@kimobrien.]

@@cnrspiller3549 His only connection with Marxism is in his ability to read. When at Harvard where he would first write about Marx he rejected talking to any Marxists on the grounds he did not want to be accused of using others ideas. I think that is sufficient proof that this mans claims to be a Marxist come from reading Marx by himself and no actual connection to the movement calling itself Marxist, Communist or Socialist.

[@kimobrien.]

@@cnrspiller3549 The anti Marxist "Facts" he has discovered include that capitalism is not based upon the exploitation of the working class, that resources are limited and only trade offs are possible.

[@cnrspiller3549]

@@AkiraNakamoto funny. You call socialism 'governmentalism'. I like it. I've taken to renaming socialism, 'controlism'. This would rightly encompass all socialists from Marx to Hitler - everyone who has an overwhelming urge to control the lives and wealth of others. Good luck with your writing. I'm ploughing through a simplification of Sowell's and Friedman's work called 'Capitalism for Kids'. I don't expect to find a sympathetic publisher, but it keeps me off the streets!

[@sapereaude391]

13:56 The look you give when you realise the person you are talking to has not understood a word you have said.

[@1974alancampbell]

University was a stepping stone to adulthood and an introduction to reality. Was. Not is.

[@pekabhoo9653]

Greetings anointed KZbin commentators. Does anyone know the name of the track being played in the intro?

[@csgofordummies1239]

GOAT

[@jonathano6946]

Once again another wonderful video!Also what is the song for your intro?

[@heuganian7252]

damn decades before his time. this man has god on his side

[@JrealD]

Where's the lie though? Brilliant.

[@mister-monkeyman]

2:33 man had to hide his power level

[@CFkatehudson]

If only we knew just how right he was and the danger they pose.

[@stumac869]

Everything this man warned against is coming to fruition but worse.

[@saltburner2]

The greatest President America never had!

[@shawnhill3482]

The squeaky wheel gets the Most attention!

[@zippymax1]

Obviously the word "narrative" wasn't as popular in 1995.

[@ohhcarbonz_9817]

Sowell’s intro song is called “take five” by Nate Leath

[@philliphsieh83]

I support and will obey Ron Desantis Forever!

[@BhutanBluePoppy]

At 4:24, listen to him & apply his analysis to recent outrages such as the response to …

[@patrickcarey1356]

The funny thing about the education conversation is the Thomas is a high school drop out. He used his opportunities from the military to get an education when he valued the education oh high learning

[@mistermusturd6402]

The Marx Brothers made a film in 1932 called Horse Feathers which highlighted the fallacies of higher education.

[@Nathan-hs2ut]

Could you share the intro song/jingle?

[@ohhcarbonz_9817]

“Take five” by Nate Leath

[@Nathan-hs2ut]

@@ohhcarbonz_9817 thanks a lot, you're a hero!

[@ohhcarbonz_9817]

@@Nathan-hs2ut I think the rest of the song is quite average tbh, first part is just iconic with Sowell.

[@Nathan-hs2ut]

@@ohhcarbonz_9817 hahaha, exactly. It's a great intro (literally)

[@tannergauge9374]

But what would the government do without all of these unaccountable ideas?

[@fullthrottlemaxrpm]

Now who gave this a thumbs down

[@kingsdethroned]

Based

[@mikeorclem]

here on youtube tom has a number of free audio books.

[@konnigkratz]

What is good about this is not that Sowell is 'kicking Wattenburg's ass' but that they are actually going back-and-forth on it. I don't want to watch a host who already agrees with the interviewee given them softballs, that's boring as fuck.

[@beridledodopidop4822]

First!

[@itcamefromthedeep]

"[...] and we look at the data and we see...[...]" --->>>> Sowell's eyebrows shoot up BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[@chrisod22]

13:56 - haha! Would love to know what he is thinking.

[@bettylane1984]

The truth and common sense are always ignored. Unless it's useful

[@shawnhill3482]

Too many people talking about nothing makes it something!

[@davidr1620]

Reading conflict of visions now. VOTA is next.

[@zacharyvelasquez6756]

Sounds like Nancy Pelosi he's describing

[@Paul-A01]

These ideas persist despite the evidence because they offer power and importance to the people who think them. Like a heroin addict that's convinced he just needs a bit more heroin, these people are convinced they just need to keep going with their plan just a little longer. Once they're detoxed from it, they very well may become productive and intelligent members of society, so long as they're kept away from power.

[@jaikhemani5181]

lol this guy is 65 in this wtf

[@parossedusa6292]

Elizabeth Warren will be a perfect cover for the book. Next is Ilhan Omar.

[@bernardgallo2884]

My hero, and can one politician, past or present, come close? Our elected officials are the HS JV student manager compared to Willie Mays, Michael Jordan, or Tiger Woods. They should be embarrassed of themselves.

[@stenbak88]

The great society was detrimental to the USA

[@TheBelegur]

The oligarchs may or may not have great humanitarian ideals. But, they too often accomplish the opposite of their stated intent. This is the law of unintended consequences. Additionally, government is the most ineffective mechanism to implement any ideas no matter of their basic value.

[@ryanm9371]

Kinda disagree with this. A highly skilled and educated workforce is productive

[@Baron_Blue_Max]

I would not call it a broadside... more of a raking barrage!

[@williammunny9916]

*_Revelation 1.17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death._* _Jesus Christ loves you. Only Jesus Christ saves. Repent and be saved. God bless you, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family._ ----

[@1974alancampbell]

Does this guy not listen.