Thomas Sowell
American economist and social theorist, born 1930; senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
At a glance
Main ideas
Visions behind politics, Knowledge and decisions, Minimum wages …
See all 5Criticism
Nathan J. Robinson, Jennifer Doleac
See all 2Books to start with
Knowledge and Decisions, A Conflict of Visions, The Vision of the Anointed …
See all 5Connections
Milton Friedman and A Conflict of Visions
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Sowell is an American economist, economic historian and social theorist.
- He grew up in Harlem, served in the Marine Corps, and earned degrees from Harvard, Columbia and the University of Chicago.
- He taught at universities including Cornell, Brandeis and UCLA before moving to the Hoover Institution at Stanford.
- He has written more than 45 books on economics, race, education and ideas, and has described himself as closest to a libertarian.
Why it matters
- His books on markets, race and the visions behind political disagreement are widely read, and A Conflict of Visions is often cited for why the same people disagree on unrelated issues.
Key facts
- Born
- 30 Jun 1930, Gastonia, North Carolina1
- Military
- U.S. Marine Corps from 1951 to 1952, during the Korean War1
- Education
- BA in economics, Harvard (1958, magna cum laude); MA, Columbia (1959); PhD in economics, University of Chicago (1968), under George Stigler1
- Academic career
- Assistant professor of economics at Cornell from 1965 to 1969; also taught at Rutgers, Howard, Brandeis, Amherst and UCLA1
- Hoover Institution
- Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution1
- Column
- Nationally syndicated by Creators Syndicate; ended 27 Dec 20161
- Honours
- National Humanities Medal (2002); Bradley Prize (2003); American Philosophical Society (1998)1
- Books
- More than 45, including revised and new editions1
Main ideas
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Visions behind politics2
Political opponents differ consistently because they hold different visions of human nature.
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Knowledge and decisions1
On how markets and governments differ as ways of using knowledge; it won the 1980 Law and Economics Center Prize.
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Minimum wages1
He argues that a mandated minimum wage leaves some workers with no job at all, and falls hardest on minorities.
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Race and policy1
He challenges the view that black progress is due mainly to government programmes, and criticises affirmative action.
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Late-talking children1
In The Einstein Syndrome he argues that some bright late talkers are misdiagnosed with autism.
Criticism
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
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Knowledge and Decisions1
Markets, government and how knowledge is used.
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The constrained and unconstrained visions of human nature.
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The Vision of the Anointed1
The second book of his trilogy on ideology.
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The Quest for Cosmic Justice1
The third book of the trilogy.
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Basic Economics1
His general introduction to economics.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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