Thomas Sowell, (1930- ) Writer and economist Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [31-44] of 44 Thomas Sowell quotesThomas Sowell QuotesThomas Sowell Previous 30 quotes Compassion is the use of public funds to buy votes.~ Thomas Sowell Force is the antithesis of freedom, but force must be used, if only to defend against other force.~ Thomas Sowell If you have ever seen a four-year-old trying to lord it over a two-year-old, then you know what the basic problem of human nature is and why government keeps growing larger and ever more intrusive.~ Thomas Sowell The fatal attraction of government is that it allows busybodies to impose decisions on others without paying any price themselves. That enables them to act as if there were no price, even when there are ruinous prices -- paid by others.~ Thomas Sowell There are only two ways of telling the complete truth - anonymously and posthumously.~ Thomas Sowell We enjoy freedom and the rule of law on which it depends, not because we deserve it, but because others before us put their lives on the line to defend it.~ Thomas Sowell A recent poll showed that nearly half the American public believes that the government should redistribute wealth. That so many people are so willing to blithely put such an enormous and dangerous arbitrary power in the hands of politicians -- risking their own freedom, in hopes of getting what someone else has -- is a painful sign of how far many citizens and voters fall short of what is needed to preserve a democratic republic.~ Thomas Sowell Given that some social processes must convey inherent constraints, the choice is among various mixtures of persuasion, force, and cultural inducement. The less of one, the more of the others. The degree of freedom that is possible is therefore tied to the extent to which people respond to persuasion or inducement.~ Thomas Sowell 'For every $1.00 major corporations gave to conservative and free-market groups, they gave $4.61 to organizations seeking more government,' according to a study by the Capital Research Center, a Washington think tank.~ Thomas Sowell 'What freedom does a starving man have?' The answer is that starvation is a tragic human condition- perhaps more tragic than loss of freedom. That does not prevent these from being two different things.~ Thomas Sowell One of the painfully sobering realizations that come from reading history is the utter incompetence that is possible among leaders of whole nations and empires — and the blind faith that such leaders can nevertheless inspire among the people who are enthralled by their words or their posturing.~ Thomas Sowell One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.~ Thomas Sowell The talkers and writers resent being left on the sidelines by the doers.~ Thomas Sowell With all the pious talk about "tolerance" in the media and in academia, there is virtually none for those who challenge the dogmas of political correctness in most of our colleges and universities.~ Thomas Sowell Previous 30 quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print