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Reviews
The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy by Thomas Sowell
cyranoreads's review against another edition
4.0
A primer for understanding political correctness. Sowell brilliantly exposes the progressive mindset and methodology, and its cohesive dynamics in the irrational social system it propagates, including its psychological appeal to self-flattery, its lack of accountability or corrective feedback, and its special suitedness to media proliferation. The chapter “The Vocabulary of the Anointed” is particularly good and exposes the anointed’s successful mainstreaming of its language and all its in-built fallacies. My minor quibble is a few subtle notes of social conservatism. I recommend it to all those wanting, or merely willing, to question the established zeitgeist.
Rating: between 4 and 5 stars.
Rating: between 4 and 5 stars.
fictionofthefix's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
aristotle910's review
5.0
In this classic, Thomas Sowell disproves many of the fallacies hidden in our society. He uses exceptional evidence, and is very passionate and forthcoming in his words. His writing is candid, and this book is no exception. He exposes the people who ruin real progress, and blames them for shortcomings in the economy. This book is fascinating and a real good read.
panireads's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Dr. Sowell is one of the most important political thinkers of our time, in this book Sowell challenges what he calls The Vision of the Aninted , a set of assumptions about economics, society and reality that are usually accepted as axioms without evidence and often with ample evidence to the contrary.
Ultimately this book is about critical thinking, th need for concrete evidence before reaching any conclusion and the trade offs inherent in policy making.
Ultimately this book is about critical thinking, th need for concrete evidence before reaching any conclusion and the trade offs inherent in policy making.
l1dka's review
4.0
This is one of the most interesting books I read for school this year. Definitely thanking my past self for deciding to read this. It doesn't have the brilliancy of Bastiat, but it is better than most social policy/ government books I've tried. {i.e. You wanted to read this, not pound you're head because it was slow.} I don't agree with him on EVERY issue, (we're all humans, who can ever agree 100%?), but his main premise was good.
theartolater's review
5.0
At its root, this book is about how there are some beliefs that are simply accepted and repeated without question, and how policies are derived from them, regardless as to whether they're necessary or work.
While political discourse has really soured as of late and bad faith runs abound, I still hold onto this idea that people who can disagree can still converse and disagree and understand each other. Even with the disaster that was Political Season 2008, I still believe it. I still believe it because I think there’s a way you can explain to people why you think they’re wrong without being insulting and without devolving to our base instincts. We all fail at doing so from time to time, but it can be done. Right?
No book has done more to hone my views than this book. He’s one of the guys who gets it – he’s old guard while understanding the new guard, he gets where beliefs come from and he knows how to explain them in intellectual, but accessible, terms. I really wish I could get every single person I disagree with to read this book, because it really explains, in detail, why certain things don’t work and why it is so hard to debate these issues with people. Plus, it was written nearly 15 years ago at this point and the thesis is as salient as ever, especially as we leave the era of "Big Government Conservatism"
While political discourse has really soured as of late and bad faith runs abound, I still hold onto this idea that people who can disagree can still converse and disagree and understand each other. Even with the disaster that was Political Season 2008, I still believe it. I still believe it because I think there’s a way you can explain to people why you think they’re wrong without being insulting and without devolving to our base instincts. We all fail at doing so from time to time, but it can be done. Right?
No book has done more to hone my views than this book. He’s one of the guys who gets it – he’s old guard while understanding the new guard, he gets where beliefs come from and he knows how to explain them in intellectual, but accessible, terms. I really wish I could get every single person I disagree with to read this book, because it really explains, in detail, why certain things don’t work and why it is so hard to debate these issues with people. Plus, it was written nearly 15 years ago at this point and the thesis is as salient as ever, especially as we leave the era of "Big Government Conservatism"
csd17's review
4.0
Never have I enjoyed a guilt trip so much. This is perhaps his best... lacking only an updated version.
henryarmitage's review
5.0
This book totally rocks. A major theme is how liberal beliefs are impervious to evidence. I'm seeing a different side of Thomas Sowell... this is much more confrontational than stuff by him I've read previously... it's like Ann Coulter with footnotes.