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Really pleased to have Dr. Sowell on the show today. He has a new book out, “Intellectuals and Race,” so we’ll be discussing that and everything else I can get into our 15 minutes 🙂 Hope you can join us. After the show, we’ll have a public podcast of the interview as well.
UPDATE: The podcast has posted, just below. Enjoy!
I’ve read and recommend both, ‘Economic Facts and Fallacies’ and ‘Intellectuals and Society’ from Dr.Sowell. Especially the later…
posted 4/5 1152am Texas[The New Thought Police] Time
I think it is safe to say the intellectuals who are obsessed with race are steeped in leftwing ideology. They may not be outright Marxists but Marxism has a great influence on their thinking.
The concept of class struggle is critical to Marxist thinking. In the later 1800’s and early 1900’s, the paramount struggle was between labor and owners of the means of production. The harshest aspects of the early Industrial Age were mitigated over time, in part, it must be said, owing to the pressure from the political left.
Their success at reform thwarted the hoped for revolution. As the lives of the working class improved, the siren song of Marxism faded for working men and women. The intellectuals had to come up with different struggles because conflict is the animating force of the left. The class struggle shifted from labor relations to other social relations. Men vs women. Blacks vs whites. Rich vs poor.
There were genuine grievances to exploit and the left made the most of it with the encouragement of these intellectuals. They were successful once again. We live in a Balkanized society today. Groups are pitted against groups. Every individual within a minority group is expected to be angry or, ironically, risk being ostracized by the group.
We were once a fractured society based on true injustice. After the civil rights battles Americans were ready to come together. Instead Multiculturalism was foisted on us and we are now a fractured society in the false name of justice.
Yes, the false name of justice.
An interesting story and followup – on topic: http://tinyurl.com/cgsh6pf
I remember after George McGovern’s massive defeat many liberals were baffled how that could happen. The Democrats had been so meticulous in selecting delegates according to race, gender and ethnicity, right down to decimal places for each representation allotment. How could McGovern have lost after being nominated by such an even-handed measure of America? The fact that the delegates were 100% liberals was lost on the hapless losers. They really never gave that part of the equation a thought because in their view liberalism is the way all civilized people think. It’s the same about diversity on college campuses. People have to look different to satisfy “diversity” but must think like liberals to be considered properly human.
Dr. Sowell was a great guest! He really did give me a new perspective on the grand scheme of things. Refreshing…
Tammy, his point was independent thinkers had difficulty in regimented organizations, not blacks specifically.
Yes, but I do think there is *less patience* with minorities, especially black men, who have that issue. Not everyone gets court-martialed for questioning authority or approaching things independently. It is interesting to me that 3 of the more influential thinkers who happen to be black men faced court-martial–Sowell, Walter WIlliams and Allen West.
Here is an interesting 2003 column that Sowell wrote about Williams ~ http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2003/09/19/roasting_walter_williams
Next up, Walter Williams…
I so enjoyed the exchange between Tammy and Dr. Sowell. I always enjoy hearing from him and wish there were more opportunities to hear from him in a broad medium. There are many who think like him in the black community than one would think. But, like he said, they won’t necessarily speak out. I consider him one of the leaders in the black community. The liberals can have the Rev Al, and the Rev Jackson.
[…] Their discussion touches upon the political environment on today’s college campuses (click HERE for link to podcast). […]