Thomas Sowell ( ; born June 30, 1930) is an American economist,
economic historian, and
social and
political commentator. He is a
senior fellow at the
Hoover Institution.
With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he is a well-known voice in the American
conservative movement as a prominent
black conservative.
He was a recipient of the
National Humanities Medal from President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
in 2002.
Sowell was born in
Gastonia, North Carolina, and grew up in
Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of
Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
during the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. Afterward, he graduated ''
magna cum laude'' from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1958.
He earned a master's degree in economics from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
the next year, and a PhD in economics from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
, and the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
. He has also worked at think tanks, including the
Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the
Hoover Institution at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the
Reagan era, influencing fellow economist
Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas.
He was offered a position as
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
er in the
Ford administration and was considered for posts including
U.S. Secretary of Education in the
Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects, including politics, economics, education, and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers.
His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues;
libertarian, especially on economics;
or
libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as
national defense.
Early life
Sowell was born in 1930 into a poor family in
segregated Gastonia, North Carolina.
His father died shortly before he was born, leaving behind Sowell's mother, a housemaid who already had four children. A great-aunt and her two grown daughters adopted Sowell and raised him.
His mother died a few years later of complications while giving birth to another child.
In his
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, ''A Personal Odyssey,'' Sowell wrote that his childhood encounters with white people were so limited that he did not know blond was a hair color.
He recalls that his first memories were living in a small wooden house in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, which he stated was typical of most black neighborhoods.
It was located on an unpaved street and had no electricity or running water.
When Sowell was nine years old, his extended family and he moved from North Carolina to
Harlem, New York City, for greater opportunities, joining in the
large-scale trend of African-American migration from the American south to the north. Family quarrels forced his aunt and him to room in other people's apartments.
Sowell qualified for
Stuyvesant High School, a prestigious academic high school in New York City; he was the first in his family to study beyond the sixth grade. However, he was forced to drop out at age 17 because of financial difficulties and family quarreling.
He worked a number of odd jobs, including long hours at a machine shop, and as a delivery man for
Western Union.
He also tried out for the
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948.
Sowell was
drafted into the armed services in 1951 during the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and was assigned to the
U.S. Marine Corps. Although Sowell opposed the war and experienced racism, he was able to find fulfillment as a photographer, which eventually became his favorite hobby.
He was
honorably discharged in 1952.
Higher education and early career
After leaving military service, Sowell completed high school, took a civil service job in
Washington, DC, and attended night classes at
Howard University, a
historically black college. His high scores on the
College Board
The College Board, styled as CollegeBoard, is an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an asso ...
examinations and recommendations by two professors helped him gain admission to
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where he graduated ''
magna cum laude'' in 1958 with a
bachelor of arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in economics.
He earned a
Master of Arts degree from
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
the following year.
Sowell had initially chosen
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
to study under
George Stigler, who would later receive the
Nobel Prize in Economics, but when he learned that Stigler had moved to the University of Chicago, he followed him there and studied for his doctorate under Stigler upon arriving in the fall of 1959.
Sowell has said that he was a
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
"during the decade of my 20s". One of his earliest professional publications was a sympathetic examination of Marxist thought vs.
Marxist–Leninist practice.
What began to change his mind toward supporting
free-market economics, he said, was studying the possible impact of
minimum wages on unemployment of sugar-industry workers in
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, as a
U.S. Department of Labor intern. Workers at the department were surprised by his questioning, he said, and he concluded, "they certainly weren't going to engage in any scrutiny of the law".
Sowell received his
doctor of philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in economics from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1968.
His dissertation was titled "
Say's Law and the
General Glut Controversy".
Academic career
From 1965 to 1969, Sowell was an
assistant professor of economics at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
. Writing 30 years later about the 1969 seizure of
Willard Straight Hall by black students at Cornell, Sowell characterized the students as "
hoodlums" with "serious academic problems
ho wereadmitted under lower academic standards", and noted, "it so happens that the pervasive racism that black students supposedly encountered at every turn on campus and in town was not apparent to me during the four years that I taught at Cornell and lived in
Ithaca."
Sowell has taught economics at Howard University,
Rutgers, Cornell,
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
,
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
, and the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
. At Howard, Sowell wrote, he was offered the position as head of the economics department, but he declined.
Since 1980, he has been a
senior fellow of the
Hoover Institution at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he holds a fellowship named after
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
and
Milton Friedman, his mentor.
The Hoover appointment, because it did not involve teaching, gave him more time for his numerous writings. In addition, Sowell appeared several times on
William F. Buckley Jr.'s show ''
Firing Line'', during which he discussed the economics of race and
privatization. Sowell has written that he gradually lost faith in the academic system, citing low academic standards and counterproductive university bureaucracy, and he resolved to leave teaching after his time at the University of California, Los Angeles.
In ''A Personal Odyssey'', he recounts, "I had come to Amherst, basically, to find reasons to continue teaching. What I found, instead, were more reasons to abandon an academic career."
In an interview, Sowell said he had been offered a position as
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
er by the
Ford administration in 1976, but that after pursuing the opportunity, he withdrew from consideration to avoid the political games surrounding the position.
He said in another interview that he was offered the post of
United States Secretary of Education, but declined.
In 1980, after Reagan's election, Sowell and Henry Lucas organized the Black Alternatives Conference to bring together black and white conservatives; one attendee was a young
Clarence Thomas, then a congressional aide. Sowell was appointed as a member of the Economic Policy Advisory Committee of the
Reagan administration, but resigned after the first meeting, disliking travel from the West Coast and lengthy discussions in Washington; of his decision to resign, Sowell cited "the opinion (and the example) of Milton Friedman, that some individuals can contribute more by staying out of government".
In 1987, Sowell testified in favor of federal appeals court judge
Robert Bork during the hearings for
Bork's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. In his testimony, Sowell said that Bork was "the most highly qualified nominee of this generation" and that what he viewed as
judicial activism, a concept that Bork opposed as a self-described
originalist and
textualist, "has not been beneficial to minorities."
In a review of Sowell's 1987 book, ''
A Conflict of Visions'', Larry D. Nachman in ''
Commentary'' described Sowell as a leading representative of the
Chicago school of economics
The Chicago school of economics is a Neoclassical economics, neoclassical Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty at the University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and populari ...
.
Writings and thought
Themes of Sowell's writing range from
social policy on
race,
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
s,
education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
, and
decision-making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...
, to
classical and
Marxian economics, to the problems of children perceived as having disabilities.
Sowell had a nationally syndicated column distributed by
Creators Syndicate that was published in ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' and ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' magazines, and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', ''
The Washington Times'', ''
The New York Post'', and other major newspapers, as well as online on websites such as ''
RealClearPolitics
RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. It was founded in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected polit ...
'', ''
Townhall'', ''
WorldNetDaily'', and the ''
Jewish World Review''. Sowell commented on current issues, which include
liberal media bias;
judicial activism and
originalism;
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
;
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
;
universal health care; the tension between government policies, programs, and protections and familial
autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
;
affirmative action
Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
; government
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
;
gun control;
militancy in
U.S. foreign policy; the
war on drugs;
multiculturalism;
mob rule; and the
overturning of ''Roe v. Wade''. According to ''
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education'', Sowell was the most
cited black economist between 1991 and 1995, and second-most cited between 1971 and 1990.
He was a frequent guest on ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show'', in conversations with Walter E. Williams, who was a substitute host for Limbaugh.
On December 27, 2016, Sowell announced the end of his syndicated column, writing that, at age 86, "the question is not why I am quitting, but why I kept at it so long", and cited a desire to focus on his photography hobby.
The TV show ''
Free to Choose,'' distributed by the
Free to Choose Network, features Sowell along with Milton Friedman and a number of other panelists as they discuss the relationship between freedom and individual economic choices. A documentary detailing his career entitled "Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World" was released by the Free to Choose Network in 2021.
Economic and political ideology
Until the spring of 1972, Sowell was a registered
Democrat, after which he then left the Democratic Party and resolved not to associate with any political party again, stating, "I was so disgusted with both candidates that I didn't vote at all."
Though he is often described as a
black conservative, Sowell said, "I prefer not to have labels, but I suspect that '
libertarian' would suit me better than many others, although I disagree with the libertarian movement on a number of things."
He has been described as one of the most prominent advocates of contemporary
classical liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...
along with
Friedrich Hayek and
Larry Arnhart. Sowell primarily writes on economic subjects, generally advocating a
free-market approach to
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
. Sowell opposes the
Federal Reserve, arguing that it has been unsuccessful in preventing
economic depressions and limiting
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
.
Sowell described his study of
Karl Marx
Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
in his autobiography; as a former Marxist, who early in his career became disillusioned with it, he emphatically opposes
Marxism
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
, providing a
critique in his book ''Marxism: Philosophy and Economics'' (1985).
Sowell has also written a trilogy of books on
ideologies and
political positions, including ''
A Conflict of Visions'', in which he speaks on the origins of political strife; ''
The Vision of the Anointed'', in which he compares the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
/
libertarian, and
liberal/
progressive worldviews; and ''The Quest for Cosmic Justice'', in which, as in many of his other writings, he outlines his thesis of the need felt by
intellectuals,
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
s, and leaders to fix and perfect the world in
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
n and ultimately, he posits, disastrous fashions. Separate from the trilogy, but also in discussion of the subject, he wrote ''
Intellectuals and Society'', building on his earlier work, in which he discusses what he argues to be the blind
hubris and follies of intellectuals in a variety of areas.
His book ''
Knowledge and Decisions'', a winner of the 1980 Law and Economics Center Prize, was heralded as a "landmark work", selected for this prize "because of its cogent contribution to our understanding of the differences between the market process and the process of government". In announcing the award, the center acclaimed Sowell, whose "contribution to our understanding of the process of regulation alone would make the book important, but in reemphasizing the diversity and efficiency that the market makes possible,
iswork goes deeper and becomes even more significant."
Friedrich Hayek wrote: "In a wholly original manner,
owellsucceeds in translating abstract and theoretical argument into highly concrete and realistic discussion of the central problems of contemporary economic policy."
Sowell opposes the imposition of minimum wages by governments, arguing in his book ''Basic Economics'', "Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, and that is the wage that many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage, because they either lose their jobs or fail to find jobs when they enter the labor force." He goes further to argue that minimum wages disproportionately affect "members of racial or ethnic minority groups" that have been discriminated against. He asserts, "Before federal minimum-wage laws were instituted in the 1930s, the black unemployment rate was slightly lower than the white unemployment rate in 1930. But then followed the
Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, the
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of 1933, and the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 – all of which imposed government-mandated minimum wages, either on a particular sector or more broadly... By 1954, black unemployment rates were double those of whites and have continued to be at that level or higher. Those particularly hard hit by the resulting unemployment have been black teenaged males."
Sowell also favors
decriminalization of all drugs.
He opposes
gun control laws, arguing, "On net balance, they do not save lives, but cost lives."
Race and ethnicity
Sowell has supported
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
political positions on race, and is known for caustic, sarcastic criticism of
liberal black civil-rights figures.
Sowell has argued that
systemic racism is an untested, questionable hypothesis, writing, "I don't think even the people who use it have any clear idea what they're saying", and compared it to
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
tactics used by
Joseph Goebbels because if it is "repeated long enough and loud enough", people "cave in" to it.
In several of his works—including ''The Economics and Politics of Race'' (1983), ''Ethnic America'' (1981), ''
Affirmative Action Around the World'' (2004), and other books—Sowell challenges the notion that black progress is due to progressive government programs or policies. He claims that many problems identified with black people in modern society are not unique, neither in terms of American ethnic groups, nor in terms of a rural
proletariat struggling with disruption as it became
urbanized, as discussed in his ''
Black Rednecks and White Liberals'' (2005). He is critical of
affirmative action
Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...
and
race-based quotas.
He takes issue with the notion of government as a helper or savior of minorities, arguing that the historical record shows the opposite. In ''Affirmative Action Around the World'',
Sowell holds that affirmative action affects more groups than is commonly understood, though its impacts occur through different mechanisms, and has long since ceased to favor blacks.
In ''Intellectuals and Race'' (2013), Sowell argues that
intelligence quotient
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. Originally, IQ was a score obtained by dividing a person's mental age score, obtained by administering ...
(IQ) gaps are hardly startling or unusual between, or within,
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
s. He notes that the roughly 15-point
gap in contemporary black–white IQ scores is similar to that between the national average and the scores of certain
ethnic white groups in years past, in periods when the nation was absorbing new immigrants.
Late-talking and the Einstein syndrome
Sowell's book ''The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late'' was published in 2021 as a follow-up to his ''Late-Talking Children''. In it, Sowell discusses what he calls the "Einstein syndrome", which refers to the phenomenon of
late-talking children. Sowell says these children are frequently misdiagnosed with
autism or
pervasive developmental disorder. He includes the research of Stephen Camarata and
Steven Pinker, among others. Sowell says this trait affected many historical figures who developed prominent careers, such as physicists
Albert Einstein,
Edward Teller, and
Richard Feynman; mathematician
Julia Robinson; and musicians
Arthur Rubinstein and
Clara Schumann. According to Sowell, some children develop unevenly (
asynchronous development) for a period in childhood due to rapid and extraordinary development in the analytical functions of the brain. This may temporarily "rob resources" from neighboring functions such as
language development.
Politics
In a 2009 column titled "The Bush Legacy", Sowell assessed President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
as "a mixed bag", but "an honorable man."
Sowell said the media was "filtering and spinning" its coverage regarding abortions and has spoken out against
sex-selective abortion. In 2018, he named
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
,
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
,
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, and
Calvin Coolidge as presidents he liked.
Donald Trump
Sowell was strongly critical of
Republican presidential nominee
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and grudgingly endorsed
Ted Cruz in the
2016 Republican presidential primaries, criticizing him as well, stating, "we can only make our choices among those actually available." During the 2016 Republican primary, Sowell criticized Trump, questioning whether Trump had "any principles at all, other than promoting Donald Trump?"
Two weeks before the
2016 presidential election, Sowell recommended voting for Trump over
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
, because he would be "easier to impeach." In 2018, when asked on his thoughts of
Trump's presidency, Sowell replied, "I think he's better than the previous president
Barack Obama">nowiki/>Barack Obama">Barack_Obama.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Barack Obama">nowiki/>Barack Obama"
[Malagisi, Christopher, host. 23 April 2018.]
Interview with the Legendary Thomas Sowell: His New Book, His Legacy, and What He Thinks of Trump and the Future of America
" (podcast). Ep. 5 in ''The Conservative Book Club Podcast''. US: The Conservative Book Club. During interviews in 2019, Sowell defended Trump against
charges of racism.
In 2025, Sowell criticized Trump's
"Liberation Day" tariffs, comparing them to the 1930
Smoot-Hawley tariffs from the start of the Great Depression">Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act">Smoot-Hawley tariffs from the start of the Great Depression. Sowell warned that the tariffs might set off a global trade war resulting in a "great reduction in international trade". He further cautioned that policy unpredictability might lead to people Flight-to-quality, hanging on to their money, which would cause economic effects similar to those seen in the Great Depression.
Joe Biden presidential nomination
In 2020, Sowell wrote that if the
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
won the
2020 presidential election, it could signal a point of no return for the United States, a tipping point akin to the
fall of the Roman Empire. In an interview in July 2020, he stated, "the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
overcame many problems in its long history, but eventually it reached a point where it could no longer continue, and much of that was from within, not just the
barbarians attacking from outside." Sowell wrote that if Biden became president, the
Democratic Party would have an enormous amount of control over the nation, and if this happened, they could twin with the "radical left" and ideas such as
defunding the police could come to fruition.
Education
Sowell has written about education throughout his career. He has argued for the need for reform of the school system in the United States. In his book ''
Charter Schools and Their Enemies'' (2020), Sowell compares the educational outcomes of school children educated at
charter schools with those at conventional public schools. In his research, Sowell first explains the need and his methodology for choosing comparable students—both ethnically and socioeconomically—before listing his findings. He presents the case that charter schools on the whole do significantly better in terms of educational outcomes than conventional schools.
Sowell argues that many U.S. schools are failing children, contends that "indoctrination" has taken the place of proper education, and argues that
teachers' unions have promoted harmful education policies. Sowell contends that many schools have become monopolies for educational bureaucracies.
In his book ''Education: Assumptions Versus History'' (1986), Sowell analyzes the state of education in U.S. schools and universities. In particular, he examines the experiences of blacks and other ethnic groups in the American education system, and identifies the factors and patterns behind both success and failure.
Reception
Classical liberals,
libertarians, and
conservatives of different disciplines have received Sowell's work positively.
Among these, he has been noted for originality, depth and breadth,
clarity of expression, and thoroughness of research.
Sowell's publications have been received positively by economists
Steven Plaut,
Steve H. Hanke James M. Buchanan;
and
John B. Taylor; philosophers
Carl Cohen and
Tibor Machan; science historian
Michael Shermer; essayist
Gerald Early;
political scientists
The following is a list of notable political scientists. Political science is the scientific study of politics, a social science dealing with systems of governance and power.
A
* Robert Abelson – Yale University psychologist and political ...
Abigail Thernstrom and
Charles Murray;
psychologists
Steven Pinker and
Jonathan Haidt; and
Josef Joffe, publisher and editor of
Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...
, in a 2015
column, stated that "it's a scandal that economist Thomas Sowell has not been awarded the Nobel Prize. No one alive has turned out so many insightful, richly researched books."
Nathan J. Robinson stated that Sowell "is not given much attention by mainstream scholars in the academy, and few of his books are reviewed by major liberal-leaning publications."
He suggested this may be because "
s books rarely engage with the major academic literature on the subject he's writing about" and he often "leaves out crucial pieces of data that would make his position look weaker", citing his writing on
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
policy and
unemployment as an example.
[ Economist James B. Stewart wrote a critical review of ''Black Rednecks and White Liberals'', calling it "the latest salvo in Thomas Sowell's continuing crusade to represent allegedly dysfunctional value orientations and behavioral characteristics of African Americans as the principal reasons for persistent economic and social disparities." He also criticized it for downplaying the impact of slavery. Particularly in black communities in the 1980s Sowell became, in historian Michael Ondaatje's words, "persona non grata, someone known to talk ''about'', rather than with, African Americans". Economist Bernadette Chachere,] law professor Richard Thompson Ford, and sociologists William Julius Wilson and Richard Coughlin have criticized some of his work.
Criticisms include neglecting discrimination against women in the workforce in ''Rhetoric or Reality?'', the methodology of ''Race and Culture: A World View'', and portrayal of opposing theories in ''Intellectuals and Race''. Economist Jennifer Doleac criticized ''Discrimination and Disparities'', arguing that statistical discrimination is real and pervasive (Sowell argues that existing racial disparities are mostly due to accurate sorting based on underlying characteristics, such as education) and that government intervention can achieve societal goals and make markets work more efficiently. Columnist Steven Pearlstein criticized ''Wealth, Poverty and Politics''.
Personal life
Sowell was married to Alma Jean Parr from 1964 to 1975, and married Mary Ash in 1981. He has two children.
Legacy and honors
* 1982: Mencken Award for Best Book, from the Free Press Association, for his ''Ethnic America: A History''.
* 1990: Francis Boyer Award, presented by the American Enterprise Institute.
* 1998: Sydney Hook Award, from the National Association of Scholars.
* 1998: Elected membership to the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
.
* 2002: National Humanities Medal, presented by President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, for prolific scholarship melding history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, economics, and political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
.
* 2003: Bradley Prize for intellectual achievement.
* 2004: Lysander Spooner Award, presented by Laissez Faire Books, for his '' Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One''.
* 2008: International Book Award, from getAbstract, for his book ''Economic Facts and Fallacies''
Career chronology
* Labor economist, U.S. Department of Labor, June 1961 – August 1962
* Instructor in economics, Douglass College, Rutgers University, September 1962 – June 1963
* Lecturer in economics, Howard University, September 1963 – June 1964
* Economic analyst, American Telephone & Telegraph Co., June 1964 – August 1965
* Assistant professor of economics, Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, September 1965 – August 1969
* Associate professor of economics, Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
, September 1969 – June 1970
* Associate professor of economics, University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, September 1970 – June 1972
* Project director, Urban Institute, August 1972 – July 1974
* Fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research institution at Stanford University designed to advance the frontiers of knowledge about human behavior and society, and contribute to the resoluti ...
, July 1976 – March 1977
* Visiting professor of economics, Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
, September–December 1977
* Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, April–August 1977
* Professor of economics, UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, July 1974 – June 1980
* Senior fellow, Hoover Institution, September 1980–present
Bibliography
Books
* 1971. ''Economics: Analysis and Issues''. Scott Foresman & Co.
* 1972. ''Black Education: Myths and Tragedies''. David McKay Co. . .
* 1972. ''Say's Law: An Historical Analysis''. Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...
. .
* 1974. ''Classical Economics Reconsidered''. Princeton University Press. .
* 1975. '' Race and Economics''. David McKay Co. .
* 1980. '' Knowledge and Decisions''. Basic Books. .
* 1981. ''Ethnic America: A History'' . Basic Books. .
** Chapter 1,
The American Mosaic
."
* 1981. ''Markets and Minorities''. Basic Books. .
* 1981. ''Pink and Brown People: and Other Controversial Essays''. Hoover Press. .
* 1983. ''The Economics and Politics of Race''. William Morrow. .
* 1984. ''Civil Rights: Rhetoric or Reality?'' William Morrow. .
* 1985. ''Marxism: Philosophy and Economics''. Quill. .
* 1986. ''Education: Assumptions Versus History''. Hoover Press. .
* 1987. '' A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles'' . William Morrow. .
* 1987. ''Compassion Versus Guilt and Other Essays''. William Morrow. .
* 1990. ''Preferential Policies: An International Perspective''.
* 1993. '' Inside American Education''. New York: The Free Press. .
* 1993. ''Is Reality Optional?: and Other Essays''. Hoover. .
* 1995. ''Race and Culture: A World View''. .
* 1995. '' The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation As a Basis for Social Policy''. Basic Books. .
* 1996. ''Migrations and Cultures: A World View''. . .
* 1998. ''Conquests and Cultures: An International History''. .
* 1998. ''Late-Talking Children''. .
* 1999. ''The Quest for Cosmic Justice''. .
* 2000. ''A Personal Odyssey''. .
* 2000. ''Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy'' (1st ed.) . Basic Books. .
* 2002. ''Controversial Essays''. Hoover. .
* 2002. ''The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late''. .
* 2003. '' Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One''. .
* 2004. '' Affirmative Action Around the World: An Empirical Study''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...
. .
* 2004. ''Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy'' (revised and expanded ed.). New York: Basic Books.
* 2005. '' Black Rednecks and White Liberals''. San Francisco: Encounter Books. .
* 2006. ''Ever Wonder Why?: and Other Controversial Essays'' . Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. . . .
* 2006. ''On Classical Economics''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. .[Berdell, John. 2007.]
On Classical Economics
" (review). ''EH.net''. Economic History Association
The Economic History Association (EHA) was founded in 1940 to "encourage and promote teaching, research, and publication on every phase of economic history and to help preserve and administer materials for research in economic history". It publi ...
.
* 2007. ''A Man of Letters''. San Francisco, CA: Encounter Books. .
* 2007. ''Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy'' (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. . .
* 2008. ''Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One'' (2nd ed.). Basic Books. . .
* 2008. ''Economic Facts and Fallacies'' . Basic Books. . . .
* 2009. '' The Housing Boom and Bust''. Basic Books. .
** Chapter 5,
The Past and the Future
."
* 2010. ''Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy'' (4th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. .
* 2010. ''Dismantling America: and Other Controversial Essays''. Basic Books. . .
* 2010. '' Intellectuals and Society'' . Basic Books.
Lay summary
.
* 2011. ''The Thomas Sowell Reader''. Basic Books. .
* 2011. ''Economic Facts and Fallacies, 2nd edition''. Basic Books.
* 2013. ''Intellectuals and Race''. Basic Books. .
* 2014. '' Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy'' (5th ed.). New York: Basic Books. .
* 2015. '' Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective''. Basic Books.
* 2016. ''Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective'' (2nd ed.). Basic Books. .
* 2018. ''Discrimination and Disparities''. Basic Books. .
* 2019. ''Discrimination and Disparities'' (revised, enlarged ed.) Basic Books. .
* 2020. '' Charter Schools and Their Enemies''. Basic Books. .
* 2023. ''Social Justice Fallacies''. Basic Books. .
Selected essays
*
* 1975.
Affirmative Action Reconsidered. Was It Necessary in Academia?
(''Evaluation Studies'' 27). Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. . .
* 1979.
Status versus Behavior
" '' Washington University Law Review'' 1979(1):179–188.
* 1982.
Weber and Bakke, and the Presuppositions of 'Affirmative Action'
" pp. 37–63 in ''Discrimination, Affirmative Action, and Equal Opportunity: An Economic and Social Perspective'', edited by W. E. Block and M. A. Walker. Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian Conservatism in Canada, conservative public policy think tank registered as a Charitable organization, charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has ...
. .
* 2002.
The Education of Minority Children
." pp. 79–92 in ''Education in the Twenty-First Century,'' edited by E. P. Lazear. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press
Available via eText
* 2002.
Discrimination, Economics, and Culture
" pp. 167–180 in ''Beyond the Color Line: New Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity in America'', edited by A. Thernstrom and S. Thernstrom. Hoover Institution Press.
* 2012.
'Trickle Down' Theory and 'Tax Cuts for the Rich'
(''Hoover Institution Press Publication'' 635) Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. . Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
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See also
* Greenhouse effect (United States Supreme Court)
* List of newspaper columnists
Footnotes
References
Further reading
* Kwong, Jo (2008). "Sowell, Thomas (1930–)." pp. 482–483 in ''The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism'', edited by R. Hamowy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage / Cato Institute. . . . .
* Ebeling, Richard M.
"Thomas Sowell at 90: Understanding Race Relations Around the World,"
American Institute for Economic Research, June 16, 2020
* Riley, Jason L.
''Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell''
Basic Books, (e-book),
*
External links
Thomas Sowell's home page
Thomas Sowell Features
at Creators Syndicate
Archive of Articles
by Thomas Sowell at JewishWorldReview.com
*
*
*
Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World
2021 PBS intellectual biography of its subject with Jason Riley hosting.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sowell, Thomas
1930 births
Living people
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United States Marines
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