A Conflict of Visions
Also known as A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles
Thomas Sowell's 1987 account of the two visions of human nature behind political conflict.
At a glance
Key ideas
Visions come first, The unconstrained vision, The constrained vision …
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Steven Pinker, Compare
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Thomas Sowell and Jonathan Haidt
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Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Sowell asks why the same people end up as political adversaries on issue after issue.
- His answer is visions: intuitive beliefs about human nature that come before argument.
- The unconstrained vision sees people as perfectible and trusts wise decision-makers to find ideal solutions.
- The constrained vision sees human nature as fixed and self-interested, so it relies on rules, tradition and trade-offs.
Why it matters
- It gives a compact map of left and right disagreement; Steven Pinker called it the best theory yet and Jonathan Haidt drew on it.
Key facts
- Author
- Thomas Sowell1
- Published
- 1987; revised edition 20071
- Subtitle
- Published with and without "Ideological Origins of Political Struggles"1
- Part of
- A trilogy with The Vision of the Anointed and The Quest for Cosmic Justice2
Key ideas
-
Visions come first1
Intuitive feelings about human nature drive positions on everything from war to justice.
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The unconstrained vision1
Human nature is essentially good and perfectible; there is an ideal solution to every problem.
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The constrained vision1
Human nature is unchanging and self-interested; there are no solutions, only trade-offs, so checks and balances matter.
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A continuum1
The two visions are ends of a range on which many Western thinkers can be placed.
Reception
-
Steven Pinker1
The Blank Slate calls it the best theory to date, renaming the visions utopian and tragic.
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Compare1
George Lakoff's Moral Politics (1996) tries to answer a very similar question.
Connections
Links
Sources
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