Sowell is brilliant. This I knew, because I read his [b:Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy|3023|Basic Economics A Citizen's Guide to the Economy|Thomas Sowell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388328985l/3023._SX50_.jpg|812361]. But this was a completely different field and contained so much philosophical research that I was almost convinced he was a different Thomas Sowell.

His main, and, again, maddeningly neutral,* thesis centers on the two different over-arching visions traceable throughout history. His exploration of Marxism was perhaps the clearest and most succinct that I have ever read (seriously). Similarly, his view of the Nazi party was fascinating. I especially loved the last section which, possibly, illustrates the sources of some of the generational disconnect we're experiencing at the moment. I highly recommend this book---If only to help you understand where the other side might be coming from and why it is so difficult, for some, to see your point of view.

*Tell me which vision he prefers? I'm pretty sure you can't get it from this book. ( )

Illuminating.

Sowell brilliantly distills the history of human conflict into a battle of irreconcilable worldviews: the constrained view of humanity and the unconstrained view of humanity. The former assumes man is morally crippled and selfish at its foundation. The latter assumes that man is merely broken by circumstances. Sowell expounds on these worldviews and discusses their implications in a variety of different areas including justice, war, and power. However, he does not do that dogmatically, but rather lets the thought leaders' original writings, and those of their contemporaries do the talking. This book is well-researched and convincing.

Go read it. ( )

the first few chapters held my attention. Sowell's treatment of constrained and unconstrained vision were sufficient. Intellectual and erudite, but not captivating.

On first glance,unconstrained and constrained appear to be the liberal and conservative sides of the discussion. Sowell points out where those quick assignments may be flipped, but the droll manner, and wouldn't hold my attention. My last bookmark, the start of chapter 5: Varieties and Dynamics of Visions was sufficient. I'm too much the pragmatist to worry about deeper motivation. I'd agree with Sowell that a value statement like "the most good for the most people" is more difficult to measure than the most wealth for the most people, but it may be a more important objective. Especially in finding agreement about the "most good" ( )

Forget about all the clowns and comedians today posing as valid pundits, the man to clarify the American political debate is Thomas Sowell. For me this was the sort of tremendously-challenging book I came across only a couple of times in a decade that really makes me shift my assumptions and rethink my worldview. - Adam

Kind of a difficult read. Helpful in understanding political dialogue or anyother social behavior viewpoint. ( )