{"id":2095781,"date":"2023-11-09T19:58:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T00:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sowells-new-book-dismantles-social-justice-here-are-his-4-most-brutal-takedowns-of-dem-talking-points\/"},"modified":"2023-11-09T20:02:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T01:02:06","slug":"sowells-new-book-dismantles-social-justice-here-are-his-4-most-brutal-takedowns-of-dem-talking-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sowells-new-book-dismantles-social-justice-here-are-his-4-most-brutal-takedowns-of-dem-talking-points\/","title":{"rendered":"Sowell&#8217;s New Book Dismantles &#8216;Social Justice&#8217;: Here Are His 4 Most Brutal Takedowns of Dem Talking Points"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsowells-new-book-dismantles-social-justice-here-are-his-4-most-brutal-takedowns-of-dem-talking-points%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2095781&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Few figures in conservativism are more revered than Thomas Sowell.<\/h2>\n<p>A free-market economist, social theorist, and philosopher, Sowell\u2019s work has\u2064 spanned decades \u2063and influenced generations.<\/p>\n<p>Sowell wrote a nationally syndicated column, authored dozens of books, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/history-the-left-erased-the-founding-fathers-helped-obliterate-slavery\/\" title=\"Leftist historians have erased the crucial role of the Founding Fathers in abolishing slavery.\">dazzled television audiences time<\/a> and time again with \u200dhis common sense,\u2063 anti-intellectual approach to political and cultural issues.<\/p>\n<p>The following story is part of The Western Journal\u2019s exclusive series \u201cThe Sowell Digest.\u201d Each issue will break down and summarize one of Sowell\u2019s many influential works.<\/p>\n<p>At 93 years old, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/thomas-sowell-wisdom-2010-explains-experts-bungled-covid-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Sowell<\/a> is still writing books.<\/p>\n<p>His \u2063latest work \u2014 \u201cSocial Justice Fallacies\u201d \u2014 dropped\u200c in June \u200dand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hachettebookgroup.com\/titles\/thomas-sowell\/social-justice-fallacies\/9781541603936\/?lens=basic-books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">became an instant New York Time bestseller<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In only 130 pages, the book distills many of Sowell\u2019s best arguments and \u200brefutations of \u201csocial justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He breaks \u200cdown the most common arguments \u200dmade by social justice warriors \u200binto four\u200d distinct categories of \u201cfallacies\u201d and then precedes to rhetorically eviscerate every single one.<\/p>\n<p>Many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sowells-new-book-dismantles-social-justice-here-are-his-4-most-brutal-takedowns-of-dem-talking-points\/\" title=\"Sowell's New Book Dismantles 'Social Justice': Here Are His 4 Most Brutal Takedowns of Dem Talking Points\">successful conservative writers spend entire books parsing<\/a> out many of the arguments that Sowell debunks just as effectively with only a few short lines.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to know exactly why\u200d \u201csocial justice\u201d is such a problem,\u200c you\u2019ll \u2064want\u200d to read his book.<\/p>\n<p>For those interested, here\u2019s a summary of \u200bthe four main\u200d refutations <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/sowell-warned-us-biden-israel-palestine-listened\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sowell<\/a> provides \u2062within its pages.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u2018Equal Chances\u2019 Fallacies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Many on the left assume that if all things \u2062were \u2064 <em>fair<\/em>, everyone would \u200cbe equally represented in every area of life.<\/li>\n<li>Therefore, when groups aren\u2019t equally\u2062 represented that\u200d means societal unfairness \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nashville-shooter-targeted-children-white-privilege\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">racism<\/a>, sexism or another form\u200d of discrimination \u2014 must be present.<\/li>\n<li>For example, since men and women are both about 50 percent of the\u200b population, then half of our doctors, \u200dpolice, engineers, teachers, etc., should be men, and half should be women.<\/li>\n<li>If that isn\u2019t the case, according to the \u201cequal chances\u201d fallacies, then\u200d sexism is to blame.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sowell summarizes\u2063 this progressive view with a quote from\u2064 Enlightenment\u200b philosopher\u200c Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who framed the idea as \u201cthe \u200dequality which \u2063nature established among men and the inequality which they have instituted among themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the kind of world\u2062 envisioned by Rousseau, all classes, \u2063races and\u2062 other subdivisions of the human \u200cspecies would have equal chances in all endeavors \u2063\u2014 other things being\u2064 equal,\u201d Sowell wrote in his new book\u2019s\u2063 first chapter. \u201cBut the \u200cmore other things there are, influencing outcomes, the lower the chances of all those \u2064other things being equal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Sowell \u2062demonstrates \u200cthroughout the book\u2019s first chapter, innumerable\u2064 factors that have \u200cnothing\u200b to do with discrimination keep\u200c different groups from\u200b achieving equal representation in all \u2062areas of life.<\/p>\n<p>Simply put, when liberals say \u201call things being equal,\u201d the truth \u200dis\u200b those \u201cother things\u201d are never \u201cequal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Factors that \u2064have nothing to do with discrimination \u2014 such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/climate-activists-smash-protective-glass-panel-historic-painting-london-national-gallery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">climate<\/a>, environment, biological differences, birth order, age\u200c and group interests \u2014 keep individuals and \u2064groups from being equal.<\/p>\n<p>Is it \u201chuman bias\u201d that keeps Asians underrepresented and \u2063black people overrepresented\u2062 in basketball,\u200b for example? Obviously not.<\/p>\n<p>Basketball happens to be much more popular in African-American \u2063culture than it is in many Asian cultures.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, some cultures excel economically because of where their interests lie.<\/p>\n<p>In other cases, cultures advanced because of their geography. Europeans advanced economically past the African nations\u200d not \u200cbecause of discrimination, \u2063but because\u2062 of factors such\u200b as a \u2063much longer coastline that allowed\u2064 them far more capability to\u200d trade and share knowledge and resources with others.<\/p>\n<p>In short, leftists often cry\u200c \u201cdiscrimination\u201d and \u201cbigotry\u201d without ever looking into the reasons disparities exist.<\/p>\n<p>If they did, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/obama-laid-groundwork-ukraine-invasion-sowell-warned-us-happen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sowell<\/a> \u2062 does in his book, they would find \u200dthat discrimination often doesn\u2019t even rank in the top 10 reasons two groups experience different outcomes.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Racial Fallacies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In the second chapter of \u201cSocial\u2063 Justice Fallacies,\u201d Sowell takes \u200con a whole host of \u2062racial fallacies propagated by progressives.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, he also\u2064 goes \u2064to great lengths to note that the notion of genetic determinism \u2014 that some racial groups are genetically \u2063superior to others \u2014 was a notion propagated by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-bizarre-screed-fivethirtyeight-falsely-labels-pro-lifers-racist-ignores-racism-of-abortion-industry\/\" title=\"In Bizarre Screed, FiveThirtyEight Falsely Labels Pro-Lifers Racist, Ignores Racism Of Abortion Industry\">early 20th-century progressives<\/a> who believed in social justice.<\/p>\n<p>Sowell goes as far as \u200cto note\u200d that progressives \u200cnow believe in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/speechless-tim-scott-takes-view-hosts-school-systemic-racism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">systemic racism<\/a>\u201d (the racial twist on \u201cequal chances\u201d fallacies) in the very same way, and for the very same reasons, they once believed in white superiority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the early decades of\u200b the twentieth century, when Progressivism\u200d was a major new force among American intellectuals and in politics, one\u2064 of Progressivism\u2019s\u200d central tenets\u200d was genetic determinism \u2014 the belief that less successful \u2064races were \u2062genetically inferior,\u201d he wrote. \u2063\u201cLater, in the closing decades of the twentieth century, Progressives with similar \u200cviews on such other issues as the role of government, environmental protection and legal philosophy, now took an \u2064opposite view\u2063 on racial issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLess successful races were now seen \u200bas being automatically victims of \u2064racism, as they had once been considered automatically \u2062inferior. The conclusions were different, but the way evidence was used and the way contrary views and contrary evidence \u200dwere disregarded, was very similar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth sets of Progressives expressed utter certainty in their conclusions \u2014 \u200bon this and other\u2063 subjects \u2014 and dismissed critics as uninformed at best, and\u2062 confused or\u2062 dishonest at worst.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But in both cases, \u2062as it turns out, even the slightest \u200cstress test of these ideas causes them to implode.<\/p>\n<p>Minorities with cultures that prioritized hard work and learning achieved similar success and IQ scores as those more well-represented in the population, completely \u2064dispelling genetic determinism.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, it \u2064has become clear that many groups not well-represented in the population have far exceeded the success of white people, \u200cthe largest population in \u200cthe \u2062U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/michelle-obamas-heart-breaks-now-asians-getting-fair-shot-college-admissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Asians<\/a> for example, whose educational and economic\u2063 outcomes as a whole far exceed the white population\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsian American data are almost invariably \u200bomitted, not only by the media, but even by academic scholars in elite universities. Such data would often present a serious challenge to\u2064 the conclusions reached by latter-day progressives,\u201d Sowell wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the job market, \u2064for example, \u2064it \u2062has often been said that blacks are \u2018the last hired and the first fired,\u2019 when there are downturns in the economy. Black employees may in fact be terminated during an economic downturn, sooner or to a greater extent than white employees. But\u2063 data also show that white employees\u200d are often\u200d let go \u200bbefore Asian American employees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan\u200c this be attributed to racial discrimination against whites,\u200c by employers who were usually white themselves?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps Sowell\u2019s most biting bit of commentary on \u2062this subject comes later when \u2063he addresses exactly <em>why<\/em> certain \u200dblack disparities exist \u2014 the breakdown of the\u2064 black \u200bfamily, which \u200bbegan not after slavery but after the advent of progressive social welfare policies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[S]ince 1984,\u2064 in no year has\u200c the annual poverty rate of black married-couple families\u2064 been as high as 10 \u2064percent. \u2026\u200c If\u2062 black \u2063family poverty is caused by \u2018systemic racism,\u2019 do racists make an exception for blacks who are married?\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Chess Pieces Fallacies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/time-thomas-sowell-took-pope\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sowell<\/a> got the \u2064name for \u201cchess pieces fallacies\u201d from famed philosopher Adam Smith.<\/p>\n<p>Smith would often deride social justice-supporting intellectuals who imagine they\u2064 \u201ccan arrange the\u200c different members of our great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chess-board.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For example, socialists view the economy as something that can be controlled and tinkered with by\u200c a handful of intellectuals rather \u200cthan what it is, an incredibly intricate system of \u200cforces far too complex for any one person to oversee.<\/p>\n<p>Sowell makes two key arguments to\u200c refute this \u200dpoint.<\/p>\n<p>First,\u2064 intellectuals are\u2062 often unequipped to deal with such grand systems\u2062 and lack the knowledge to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Second, governments don\u2019t \u201carrange,\u201d they \u201ccompel,\u201d and any \u200bpower given to intellectuals to \u201carrange\u201d society comes at the \u2063high cost of\u2064 personal freedom.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Knowledge Fallacies<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In his\u200b fourth chapter, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/woman-just-won-nobel-prize-discovering-something-decades-thomas-sowell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sowell<\/a> covers some of the ground he\u2019s \u2062best\u200d known for from previous works such as \u201cConflict of Visions\u201d and \u201cIntellectuals and Society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sowell calls out \u2062a\u2062 fallacy many intellectuals fall into: the belief that complex knowledge acquired through\u200d years of study is \u2062always more <em>consequential<\/em> \u2063 than\u2062 knowledge acquired through far more mundane means.<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, while the expert with his master\u2019s degree may have studied far harder and longer to acquire his degree in \u2062public health, he might not have all of the <em>consequential<\/em> knowledge needed to give proper guidance on how individuals and communities should respond to a pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>As many of us are now painfully aware, such \u201cexperts\u201d were seemingly unaware of\u200c the incredible social, spiritual, and emotional long-term damage that comes with COVID-19 \u200dpolicies such as masking children.<\/p>\n<p>The parents of those children, very few of whom \u200bhad complex knowledge of public health, had the\u200c more <em>consequential <\/em>mundane knowledge of knowing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/top-childrens-hospital-says-school-mask-mandates-end-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the developmental\u2062 consequences<\/a> that would come with forcibly masking their children\u2064 for hours on end.<\/p>\n<p>Sowell gives many simple\u200c examples of the complex\u200b knowledge \u200bfallacy throughout the chapter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[T]he officers in charge of the Titanic no \u200ddoubt had much complex knowledge about the intricacies of ships \u200dand navigation on\u2064 the seas. But the most consequential knowledge on a\u2063 particular night was the mundane knowledge of the location of particular icebergs,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStupid \u2063people can create problems, but it often \u200ctakes\u2063 brilliant people to create\u2063 a real catastrophe,\u201d Sowell said. \u201cThey have already\u200b done that enough times\u2062 \u2014 and in enough\u2063 different ways \u2014 for us to \u2062reconsider, before joining their latest stampedes, led by\u2062 self-congratulatory elites, deaf to argument and immune to evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/sowells-new-book-dismantles-social-justice-4-brutal-takedowns-dem-talking-points\/\">Sowell&#8217;s New Book Dismantles &#8216;Social Justice&#8217;: Here Are\u200b His 4 Most Brutal Takedowns of\u2062 Dem Talking Points<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>Oking analysis of \u200cthe fallacies\u2062 surrounding victimhood, \u200cintellectualism, and utopianism. <\/h2>\n<p><span>  For \u2062disparities between different groups. Factors such as culture, geography, \u200bindividual\u200c choices, and even random chance play a far greater role in shaping outcomes than discrimination ever could.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Victimhood\u2019 Fallacies<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Another fallacy commonly perpetuated by the left is the idea that certain groups are perennial victims of oppression and are therefore entitled to special treatment and privileges.<\/li>\n<li>This victimhood mentality encourages individuals to see themselves as helpless victims, absolving them of personal\u2063 responsibility for their own circumstances.<\/li>\n<li>According to Sowell, \u2064this fallacy not only undermines personal agency and\u200d accountability, but also \u200ddistorts the reality of historical events and ignores\u200d the countless examples of individuals from supposedly \u2063disadvantaged groups who have achieved great success through hard work and determination.<\/li>\n<li>Sowell argues\u200d that placing the burden of victimhood on certain groups only perpetuates a culture of dependency and hinders \u200btrue progress and equality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In his \u200cbook, Sowell presents a \u2063compelling case against the victimhood fallacy, highlighting the importance of personal responsibility and self-reliance in overcoming adversity and achieving success.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Intellectual\u2019 Fallacies<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The intellectual\u2063 fallacy is the idea that \u2063experts and intellectuals possess \u2063superior knowledge and should be trusted to make decisions on behalf of others.<\/li>\n<li>Sowell challenges this notion and argues that expertise in one field does not automatically translate to expertise in other areas.<\/li>\n<li>He emphasizes the importance of individuals\u200d making \u200ctheir own informed decisions and being skeptical of the supposed wisdom of intellectuals.<\/li>\n<li>Sowell points out that many policies advocated by intellectuals have \u200dhad disastrous consequences, \u2064such as the implementation of\u200d socialism in various countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Through his analysis, \u2063Sowell exposes the dangers of \u200bblindly trusting experts and highlights the importance of \u2062critical thinking and individual \u200djudgment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2018Utopian\u2019 Fallacies<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Utopian fallacies \u200dare the\u2062 unrealistic beliefs that \u200dsociety can be perfected and all problems can be\u2064 solved through government intervention and\u2063 social engineering.<\/li>\n<li>Sowell argues that these\u200c fallacies ignore \u200dthe inherent complexities of human nature and society, and fail to recognize the unintended consequences of\u200c well-intentioned policies.<\/li>\n<li>He \u2063emphasizes the importance of understanding \u2063trade-offs and the limitations of government\u200d intervention.<\/li>\n<li>Sowell presents case studies and historical examples that demonstrate the failures of utopian ideologies, urging readers to embrace a more realistic and pragmatic \u2064approach to social issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In conclusion, Thomas Sowell\u2019s book \u201cSocial\u200b Justice \u200bFallacies\u201d provides a comprehensive \u200cand thought-prov<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Few figures in conservativism are more revered than Thomas Sowell. A free-market economist, social theorist and philosopher, Sowell\u2019s work has spanned decades and influenced generations. Sowell wrote a nationally syndicated column, authored dozens of books and dazzled television audiences time and time again with his common sense, anti-intellectual approach to political and cultural issues. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2093,"featured_media":2095782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2095781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2093"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2095781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2095782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2095781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2095781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2095781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}