Thomas Sowell

Trade-offs have been with us ever since the late unpleasantness in the Garden of Eden.

Politeness and consideration for others is like investing pennies and getting dollars back.

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth--anonymously and posthumously.

Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good. In area after area - crime, education, housing, race relations - the situation has gotten worse after the bright new theories were put into operation. The amazing thing is that this history of failure and disaster has neither discouraged the social engineers nor discredited them.

The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.

People sometimes ask if I have tried to convince black 'leaders' to take a different view on racial issues. Of course not. I wouldn't spend my time trying to persuade the mafia to give up crime. Why should I spend time trying to convince race hustlers to give up victimhood? It's their bread and butter.

Egalitarians create the most dangerous inequality of all -- inequality of power. Allowing politicians to determine what all other human beings will be allowed to earn is one of the most reckless gambles imaginable. Like the income tax, it may start off being applied only to the rich but it will inevitably reach us all.

Those who are preoccupied with 'making a statement' usually don't have any statements worth making.

I have always been offended by the song that says, 'Everything is beautiful in its own way.' If everything is beautiful, then the word 'beautiful' has no meaning. If everything were purple, there would be no word 'purple' in the language because it would not distinguish one thing from another.

There are no solutions...there are only trade-offs.