ou rather have your economy and, consequently, most of your life planned by the decision-making of a small group of highly educated elites? Or would you rather have the accumulated wisdom of millions of people across hundreds of years, that is, the experience only found in the market, guide our economic and social well being?In which circumstance is freedom most safely secured?
Thomas Sowell, in his typically brilliant manner, lays out the situation clearly, succinctly, and in historical context in his latest article, "How Smart Are We?"
In his book, A Conflict of Visions, Dr. Sowell describes what he calls the "unrestrained" vision that motivates the elitist planners bent on organizing society in the image of their liking. Sowell also highlights the vision of the "restrained" statesman who have fought to place limits on the power of governments, arguing people best know how to order their own lives, individually as citizens and collectively as societies.
Arguing we are not smart enough to run our own lives is tantamount to saying we are not worthy of the freedom to do so.
Related to this topic, in this video Sowell comments on his latest book, Intellectuals and Society, in the context of one of President Obama's speeches. (I have not read this book, but it is on my shelf. It will go in Book Reports after I do.)
