Thomas Sowell song
(Verse One)
Capitalism knows only one color: that color is green [the color of money]; all else is necessarily subservient to it, hence, race, gender and ethnicity cannot be considered within it.
(Chorus)
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.
(Verse Two)
The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.
(Chorus)
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.
(Bridge)
But life does not ask us what we want. It presents us with options. Economics is one of the ways of trying to make the most of those options.
(Verse Three)
The biggest and most deadly ‘tax’ rate on the poor comes from a loss of various welfare state benefits – food stamps, housing subsidies and the like – if their income goes up.
(Chorus)
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.
It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.
The Unknown Story of Thomas Sowell: How a Marxist Became the Conservative Champion of a Generation
I was a Marxist
(Verse One)
Working at the U.S. Labor Department woke me up to the reality of big government’s flaws.
“The job paid more than I had ever made before, enabling me to enjoy a few amenities of life. Inadvertently, it also played a role as a turning point in my ideological orientation. After a year at the University of Chicago, including a course from Milton Friedman, I remained as much of a Marxist as I had been before arriving.
(Chorus)
From there on, as I learned more and more from both experience and research, my adherence to the visions and doctrines of the left began to erode rapidly with the passage of time.
(Verse Two)
It is undeniable that Thomas Sowell is the pre-eminent conservative intellectual of the past half-century. Sowell’s work, the breadth of which should be considered nothing less than the bedrock of common-sense conservatism.
(Chorus)
“However, the experience of seeing government at work from the inside and at a professional level started me to rethinking the whole notion of government as a potentially benevolent force in the economy and society.
Bridge
Sowell’s time working for the federal government was the final straw forcing him to realize Marxism was not the answer to society’s ills.
(Verse Three)
Sowell possesses an undeniably staggering legacy: The conservative anti-intellectual has published as many as 50 books, wrote a nationally syndicated column and dazzled television audiences in numerous debates and appearances in which he would unequivocally destroy the left’s talking points with his most deadly weapon — common sense, COMMON SENSE!
(Chorus)
From there on, as I learned more and more from both experience and research, my adherence to the visions and doctrines of the left began to erode rapidly with the passage of time.
Thomas Sowell Theme Song for End Credits
(Verse One)
Born in the South, a world apart,
With grit and will, he shaped his art,
From Harlem’s streets to scholar’s halls,
He answered truth’s unyielding calls.
(Chorus)
In realms of thought where wisdom reigns,
A mind emerged through humble lanes,
Thomas Sowell, with piercing gaze,
Cut through the fog of modern days.
(Verse Two)
Economics, clear and stark,
He lit the dark with reason’s spark,
No dogma swayed his steady hand,
He sought the facts, the shifting sand.
(Chorus)
In realms of thought where wisdom reigns,
A mind emerged through humble lanes,
Thomas Sowell, with piercing gaze,
Cut through the fog of modern days.
(Verse Three)
With pen as sharp as any blade,
He carved the paths that others wade,
On culture, race, and liberty,
He wrote with fierce clarity.
(Chorus)
In realms of thought where wisdom reigns,
A mind emerged through humble lanes,
Thomas Sowell, with piercing gaze,
Cut through the fog of modern days.
(Bridge)
A skeptic of the grand design,
He questioned power’s every line,
“Knowledge is vast, yet men are frail,”
He warned through every timeless tale.
(Verse Four)
Through decades bold, his voice held fast,
A titan born of history’s past,
Thomas Sowell, a beacon still,
Guides us with his iron will.
(Chorus)
In realms of thought where wisdom reigns,
A mind emerged through humble lanes,
Thomas Sowell, with piercing gaze,
Cut through the fog of modern days.
A Conflict of Visions
(Verse One)
Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions has one widely regarded and frequently cited quote that stands out for its concise encapsulation of a key idea in the book.
(Chorus)
The quote is, There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
(Verse Two)
This line, found in the context of Sowell discussing the constrained vision (where human nature imposes limits that require pragmatic choices over utopian ideals), captures the essence of his argument about the fundamental differences between the constrained and unconstrained visions.
(Chorus)
The quote is, There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
(Verse Three)
It’s pithy, memorable, and reflects his skepticism toward grand, flawless fixes to complex social problems—a cornerstone of the book’s thesis.
(Bridge)
Many readers and reviewers highlight it for its clarity and its challenge to conventional thinking about policy and human affairs.
(Chorus)
The quote is, There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.
Oooh ahhh oooo
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