Ever Wonder Why? And Other Controversial Essays

477 Pages·2006·0.706 MB·English

by  Thomas Sowell

Ever Wonder Why?

EVER
WONDER
WH Y ?
and Other
Controversial
Essays
Thomas Sowell
HOOVER INSTITUTION PRESS
StanfordUniversity Stanford,California
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Copyright(cid:2)2006byThomasSowell
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Half the harm that is done in this world is due to
people who want to feel important. They don’t
mean to do harm—but the harm does not interest
them.Ortheydonotseeit,ortheyjustifyitbecause
they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think
well of themselves.
T. S. Eliot

Contents
Preface xiii
part i: the culture wars
Ever Wonder Why? 3
Animal Rites 6
“Us” or “Them”? 9
Twisted History 12
Explaining to the Grand Kids 15
Human Livestock 18
The Wright Stuff 21
The Legacy of Eric Hoffer 24
One-Uppers versus Survival 27
The Equality Dogma 30
The Inequality Dogma 33
Equality, Inequality, and Fate 36
Hiroshima 39
The Tyranny of Visions 42
The Tyranny of Visions: Part II 45
The Tyranny of Visions: Part III 48
The Immigration Taboo 51
The Left Monopoly 54
I Beg to Disagree 57
4th Estate or 5th Column? 60
part ii: economic issues
Why Economists Are Not Popular 65
Housing Hurdles 68
The “Cost” of Medical Care 71
viii Contents
Subsidies Are All Wet 74
A Taxing Experience 77
Profits without Honor 80
Profits without Honor: Part II 83
Two Earthquakes 86
Peter Bauer (1915–2002) 89
Journalists and Economics 92
Stock Crash Aftermath 95
Milton Friedman at 90 98
“Price Gouging” in Florida 101
Economic “Power” 104
A Relic of the Recent Past 107
Who Can Afford It? 110
Free-Lunch Medicine 113
Free-Lunch Medicine: Part II 116
Free-Lunch Medicine: Part III 119
Manufacturing Confusion 122
A Cold Shower 125
An Old “New Vision” 128
Third World Sweatshops 131
Third World Sweatshops: Part II 134
Privatizing Social Security 137
Privatizing Social Security: Part II 140
“Living Wage” Kills Jobs 143
A Happy Birthday? 146
part iii: legal issues
Calculated Confusion 151
Judges and Judgment 154
Justice for Little Angelo 157
Property Rites 160
Property Rites: Part II 163
Property Rites: Part III 166
Contents ix
Foreign Law Is Not Law 169
Medical Lawsuits 172
Fixing the Jury System 175
Half a Century after Brown 178
Half a Century after Brown: Part II 181
Half a Century after Brown: Part III 184
Umpires, Judges, and Others 187
Big Business and Quotas 190
The Grand Fraud 193
The Grand Fraud: Part II 196
The Grand Fraud: Part III 199
The Grand Fraud: Part IV 202
Saving Quotas 205
The High Cost of Nuances 208
The Polio Fallacy 211
part iv: political issues
Spoiled Brat Politics 217
Spoiled Brat Politics: Part II 220
The “Compassion” Racket 223
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) 226
Gun Control Myths 229
Gun Control Myths: Part II 232
A Painful Anniversary 235
The High Cost of Shibboleths 238
“Why Do They Hate Us?” 241
Foreign “Allies” 244
My Platform 247
The Oldest Fraud 250
The Left’s Vision 253
The Left’s Vocabulary 256
Abstract People 259
Looking Back 262