I thought that I would take the opportunity to write my first real blog about one of my biggest role models and influences, Dr. Thomas Sowell. About 1 year ago, I had the pleasure of learning about Dr. Thomas Sowell, from one of my friends whom I frequently talk politics with. My friend had listened to him speak in videos online, as well as read several of his articles.
The man is without the slightest doubt, one of the smartest people that I have ever read from/listened to... I always tell people, that I feel he's one of those VERY rare people that is both highly book smart, as well as street smart. I think perhaps that Peter Robinson (One of Ronald Reagan's speech writers, the one who wrote the "Tear down this wall!" speech) summed it up best when he said to him in an interview: "You blow these questions away with such common sense, I can't even imagine what the argument on the other side is."
Dr. Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina in the year 1930.. his father died when he was very young, and Sowell moved to Harlem where he was raised by his great aunt and her two grown daughters.
At the age of 17, he dropped out of high school due to family issues. He worked a number of odd jobs, such as delivering telegrams, and was ultimately drafted to serve in Marine Corps during the Korean war in 1951. Sowell served as a pistol instructor for new recruits.
After an honorable discharge, Sowell worked a civil service job, as well as attended night classes at Howard University in Washington D.C. Sowell did so well in class, and on the College Board exams, that at the advice of two of his professors, he was admitted to Harvard University. He graduated magna cum laude, with a Bachelors in economics in 1958. He was then accepted to Columbia University, where he earned his Masters, also in economics.
Sowell originally chose Columbia, because he wanted to study under the Nobel Laureate, George Stigler. Since Stigler left there to teach at the University of Chicago, Sowell decided to go there to earn his PhD. He studied there under Milton Friedman, who became on of his lifelong friends and mentor.
Dr. Sowell describes his views as being a Marxist in his 20's.. He even stated that during his education under Milton Friedman ( a free market exemplar), he was STILL a Marxist. He said he ultimately changed course when he worked for a summer at the Department of Labor and saw the level of corruption there, and more importantly, the fact that the policies that were being enacted were motivated more by personal agenda, rather than what good they would actually achieve. He came to the conclusion that the government was nowhere near capable of doing what many wanted it to do, and we would be lucky if they didn't make things worse.
Dr. Sowell went on to teach economics at a number of universities until becoming a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution in Southern California in 1980, where he has worked ever since. He has written over 50 books, has appeared on television, as was even offered a position in the Reagan administration as Secretary of Education. He turned down the position (although with some regrets later) because of the nature of politics, and from his bad experience earlier. He continues to write articles to this day, at the age of 84.
I have listened to nearly all of his videos/interviews on Youtube and possess several of his books.
"Basic Economics" was the first one that I read. As the name implies, it is designed to expose the average person to the basic fundamental workings of the economy. Sowell does an excellent job of explaining the roles of prices, how an economy grows and why it crashes, what impact the government has on the economy itself, and more.
"Applied Economics: Thinking beyond stage one" is a follow up, which takes many of the principles from Basic Economics, and demonstrates how they apply to real world events.
"Economic Facts and Fallacies" does a great job exposing many of the common false hoods about the economy that many believe in the mainstream.
"The Housing Boom and Bust" is a book, not much more than 100 pages which does a great job of explaining how the economy tanked in 2008, what the causes were, how the Bush administration as well as the Clinton administration were responsible, and what could be learned from it.
"Black Rednecks and White Liberals" is probably my favorite, and I have read it twice. The book does an awesome job of explaining the origins of "ghetto" culture (believe it or not, it isn't African originally), a lot of less commonly known facts about the history of slavery, the Founding Fathers' moral struggle with slavery, how American culture developed based on which ethnic groups settle where, and much more.
Along with these books, I also posess "Controversial Essays", "Dismantling America", and "Ever Wonder Why?", which are all collections of articles that he has written over the years. I also stay up to date with his most recent writings via Facebook.
Dr. Sowell is hardly one for political correctness, which may seem out of style to many today. I would argue the exact opposite: he is unafraid to break down empirical data in order to expose the truth. I feel that much of the information presented today (from all sides of the political spectrum), is usually distorted/and or oversimplified to push an agenda. We need more like Sowell who will just tell it straight. The medicine may taste bitter, but we still have to swallow it.
Below are several links to some of my favorites interviews with him. Thanks again for reading, and I will be back soon.
- Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIgDxnFw-c8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu_bKJ11O0M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q3eccScG9A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SDLBqIubCs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7dpTtn5AQo
