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Thomas Sowell has broken this down very well over the last 50 years. https://www.hoover.org/research/affirmative-action-around-world https://www.hoover.org/res

Thomas Sowell has broken this down very well over the last 50 years. https://www.hoover.org/research/affirmative-action-around-world https://www.hoover.org/research/affirmative-action-around-wo... https://www.commentary.org/articles/thomas-sowell-2/affirmative-action-a-worldwide-disaster/ https://www.commentary.org/articles/thomas-sowell-2/affirmat... And of course the Bible on the subject: https://www.amazon.com/Discrimination-Disparities-Thomas-Sowell-ebook/dp/B07JLS7P8D https://www.amazon.com/Discrimination-Disparities-Thomas-Sow...

seriousquestion 5y ago
Thomas Sowell is easily in the top 5 intellectuals alive, and yet most people are barely aware of him and his work. Why? I genuinely don't understand why he is so ignored.
- zzt123 5y ago
  Whether he is ignored or not depends on the thought circle of discourse and how that circle sets, or does not set, expectations based on skin color. He’s ignored for the same reason Clarence Thomas is ignored - the juxtaposition between the color of his skin and his words.
  - failwhaleshark 5y ago
    Clarence Thomas' skin color is irrelevant. He believes the US should be a Gilead as much as the Taliban wants to turn Afghanistan into an Islamic nation: Christian state religion, no abortions, women and children as property, patriarchy, women at-home/barefoot/pregnant, no porn, no LGBT rights, no accommodations for disabilities, no dancing, no premarital sex, no divorces, criminalize adultery, decriminalize sexual harassment (irony!), no welfare except for the rich, no unions, and only teach abstinence and Creationism.
  - iammisc 5y ago
    Thomas isn't just ignored, he is actively campaigned against (As a person, rather than his views) and 'unpersoned'. For example, there is a wonderful PBS documentary, Clarence Thomas in his own words, that was removed from Amazon Prime TV during Black History month at a time the company chose to 'center' black voices. Apparently only black voices with the correct political leanings. Love him or hate him, I highly recommend the documentary. It's very humanizing.
- settrans 5y ago
  Would someone who is downvote-burying these comments care to explain their distaste? Irrespective of whether you agree with Sowell's viewpoints, they are articulate and seem germane to the conversation.
  - iammisc 5y ago
    The distaste is a black man who is a republican. That is all there is to it. Ask any non-white republican, and you will understand. The hate dished out towards us is on a level white republicans never see (not that they should... it's absolutely ridiculous). Accusations of 'Uncle Tom', 'race traitor', etc are common. When the various racial groups organize anywhere, and you volunteer your time with them, they silence you, get rid of you, and prevent you from speaking up elsewhere.
    - settrans 5y ago
      Cornel West's resignation[0] seems to lend credence to your viewpoint. [0] https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015632217/cornel-west-has-announced-hes-leaving-harvard-and-says-the-school-has-lost-its-w https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015632217/cornel-west-has-an...
- justaman 5y ago
  The left doesn't like a black man with right-wing ideas so he doesn't appear in mainstream avenues which are typically moderated by the left.
  - zozbot234 5y ago
    Sowell doesn't advocate for "right-wing" ideas. He's a moderate classical liberal, which is generally described as a centrist position.
    - readflaggedcomm 5y ago
      He's extreme far right wing, especially compared to other parties in the USA, which tend to be right wing and moderate-right compared to those in Europe, where the terms originated.
      - walkedaway 5y ago
        So, data-driven, factual research is the domain of the extreme far right wing these days? I mean, I knew the left was illogical, irrational, and irresponsible, but didn't realize leftists were admitting it.
        readflaggedcomm 5y ago
        Data is racist. (I guess that triggered a bot. Zero points as soon as it posted. Nice to know somebody cares enough to follow my comments around.)
    - UncleMeat 5y ago
      > He's a moderate classical liberal, which is generally described as a centrist position. Organizations like the Hoover love to present this as such, but there is a reason why the departments just 100 or so feet away don't interface with them - and it isn't because they are centrists.
- walkedaway 5y ago
  The documentary Uncle Tom talks about the active work the press and educational circles do to suppress Thomas Sowell's work. His data-driven research and conclusions counter leftist educational and media institutions, and those institutions see Sowell as a threat to their power base. In other words, follow the money. Truly a shame...
- walkedaway 5y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA
pmoriarty 5y ago
"The Hoover Institution, officially the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, is a conservative American public policy institution and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and limited government." Not surprisingly, Sowell's article is against affirmative action. While I was reading it, I was also looking out for anything that might distinguish Sowell as one of "the top 5 intellectuals alive" and saw absolutely nothing. It just seemed like another random article with absolutely nothing special about it. If there is some evidence that he's so brilliant, it'd be great if someone could point it out.
- iammisc 5y ago
  I suppose the fact that he's a Stanford professor (formerly Cornell), and has written a large number of popular books.
- walkedaway 5y ago
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA

seriousquestion 5y ago

Thomas Sowell is easily in the top 5 intellectuals alive, and yet most people are barely aware of him and his work. Why? I genuinely don't understand why he is so ignored.

zzt123 5y ago
Whether he is ignored or not depends on the thought circle of discourse and how that circle sets, or does not set, expectations based on skin color. He’s ignored for the same reason Clarence Thomas is ignored - the juxtaposition between the color of his skin and his words.
- failwhaleshark 5y ago
  Clarence Thomas' skin color is irrelevant. He believes the US should be a Gilead as much as the Taliban wants to turn Afghanistan into an Islamic nation: Christian state religion, no abortions, women and children as property, patriarchy, women at-home/barefoot/pregnant, no porn, no LGBT rights, no accommodations for disabilities, no dancing, no premarital sex, no divorces, criminalize adultery, decriminalize sexual harassment (irony!), no welfare except for the rich, no unions, and only teach abstinence and Creationism.
- iammisc 5y ago
  Thomas isn't just ignored, he is actively campaigned against (As a person, rather than his views) and 'unpersoned'. For example, there is a wonderful PBS documentary, Clarence Thomas in his own words, that was removed from Amazon Prime TV during Black History month at a time the company chose to 'center' black voices. Apparently only black voices with the correct political leanings. Love him or hate him, I highly recommend the documentary. It's very humanizing.
settrans 5y ago
Would someone who is downvote-burying these comments care to explain their distaste? Irrespective of whether you agree with Sowell's viewpoints, they are articulate and seem germane to the conversation.
- iammisc 5y ago
  The distaste is a black man who is a republican. That is all there is to it. Ask any non-white republican, and you will understand. The hate dished out towards us is on a level white republicans never see (not that they should... it's absolutely ridiculous). Accusations of 'Uncle Tom', 'race traitor', etc are common. When the various racial groups organize anywhere, and you volunteer your time with them, they silence you, get rid of you, and prevent you from speaking up elsewhere.
  - settrans 5y ago
    Cornel West's resignation[0] seems to lend credence to your viewpoint. [0] https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015632217/cornel-west-has-announced-hes-leaving-harvard-and-says-the-school-has-lost-its-w https://www.npr.org/2021/07/13/1015632217/cornel-west-has-an...
justaman 5y ago
The left doesn't like a black man with right-wing ideas so he doesn't appear in mainstream avenues which are typically moderated by the left.
- zozbot234 5y ago
  Sowell doesn't advocate for "right-wing" ideas. He's a moderate classical liberal, which is generally described as a centrist position.
  - readflaggedcomm 5y ago
    He's extreme far right wing, especially compared to other parties in the USA, which tend to be right wing and moderate-right compared to those in Europe, where the terms originated.
    - walkedaway 5y ago
      So, data-driven, factual research is the domain of the extreme far right wing these days? I mean, I knew the left was illogical, irrational, and irresponsible, but didn't realize leftists were admitting it.
      - readflaggedcomm 5y ago
        Data is racist. (I guess that triggered a bot. Zero points as soon as it posted. Nice to know somebody cares enough to follow my comments around.)
  - UncleMeat 5y ago
    > He's a moderate classical liberal, which is generally described as a centrist position. Organizations like the Hoover love to present this as such, but there is a reason why the departments just 100 or so feet away don't interface with them - and it isn't because they are centrists.
walkedaway 5y ago
The documentary Uncle Tom talks about the active work the press and educational circles do to suppress Thomas Sowell's work. His data-driven research and conclusions counter leftist educational and media institutions, and those institutions see Sowell as a threat to their power base. In other words, follow the money. Truly a shame...
walkedaway 5y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA

pmoriarty 5y ago

"The Hoover Institution, officially the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, is a conservative American public policy institution and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and limited government." Not surprisingly, Sowell's article is against affirmative action. While I was reading it, I was also looking out for anything that might distinguish Sowell as one of "the top 5 intellectuals alive" and saw absolutely nothing. It just seemed like another random article with absolutely nothing special about it. If there is some evidence that he's so brilliant, it'd be great if someone could point it out.

iammisc 5y ago
I suppose the fact that he's a Stanford professor (formerly Cornell), and has written a large number of popular books.
walkedaway 5y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN7X-De2RA