Starting this book today
(media.kotakuinaction2.win)
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I've already read it two times. A very good book. It explains a lot of stuff that the far-left doesn't like, and the far-right as well (Jews being generic).
Still annoys me that Sowell isn’t as well known but morons like Diangelo and Kendi are seen as great thinkers.
It shouldn't. What they brand as 'great thinkers' are people who agree with them, and serve their interests, even if those great thinkers are too dumb to wipe their own arses. His gems are not for the swine.
The owners of the media decide who is well known.
What does "Jews being generic" mean?
That both the social role played by Jews in Europe, and the reaction towards them (in the intense hatred among some), is not unique to the Jews, but actually replicated in many different places around the world in very similar ways, due to bias against the social role that these groups play. Namely a lack of comprehension that the middleman actually does provide some benefit, otherwise he would not exist.
You're saying usurers bred hatred whether they were Jewish or not and that this explains much of the historical stigma?
Yes, though the argument is not limited to just usurers. Any middleman, including shopkeepers, bred similar kind of hatred. That is the argument.
Of course, in Europe it was combined with a dislike for the Jewish religion, which was a toxic brew. But it's worth noting - as Sowell, IIRC does not make in his book - that there was not that much anti-Judaism in the Early Middle Ages. Only from the late 11th century did you get it, and that happens to be the start of the 'commercial' revolution.
It's sitting in a stack on my desk. I need to start reading.
Read anything else by Sowell?
Discrimination and Disparities. A book that should be in public schools if only to get it into the heads of students that there isn’t some sinister reason if someone has more than you.
Sowells most recent book on charter schools is a great read and comes with all of the data he utilized to write it.
I’ll have to check it out.
I may have forgotten one or two, but this is about it.
I've never read any of his books - which one is a good place to begin?
The good thing is that you can pick any of them up and enjoy them, even those with intimidating or boring-sounding titles likes Knowledge and Decisions.
It really depends on what you are interested in. If economics, then start with Basic Economics, and follow with Knowledge and Decisions, and Applied Economics
If culture, then the Culture triptych is a good start, along with Ethnic America.
If you are interested in the pernicious effect of authoritarian and arrogant elites on society, then Vision of the Anointed, Quest for Cosmic Justice and Intellectuals and Race and Intellectuals and Society.
Black Rednecks and White Liberals is perhaps more accessible, because it's several longer essays which do not rely on one another. Discrimination and Disparities is also one of the shorter works, but which makes a powerful argument. Housing Boom and Charter Schools are also shorter, but I was less interested in those, and less able to evaluate their quality.
It's actually hard to say, because his works are a beautifully ordered whole. Many themes from one area he uses in another, and the result is quite charming.
Masterwork of Western Civilization IMHO
Quite unexpectedly, too.
I thought: "this will probably be boring as hell, but since it's Sowell, it'll probably not be worthless".
Where'd you snag a copy? I remember looking for one a few weeks back but all the places I saw were out of stock or "backordered."
You'd think there'd be a reprinting or something. :(
Got an Amazon gift card a while back and used it to buy the book.
Dumb question, ever thought of going on eBay to get a used copy? Not as good as a new one, but Sowell already got paid and if it's gathering dust in someone's bookshelf it's better off with you reading it.
Also, what about... the library?
Yeah I'll have to check ebay again, I didn't see any in my price point last time I checked. Sadly my local library doesn't have it either, or any Sowell book for that matter. 🤷♂️
I just checked and my local library has it available in its ebook vendor.
Yeahhhh, mine doesn't 🤣
👌
Good shit.
Judging by your hand you're also black. We gotta help the whites bro. I'm Korean and I can tell us Asians are next if they culturally subjugate the whites. And if you're a black man, you're next after us as well.
Smith has mentioned before that he's black.
I hate how Asians are treated because they “excel too much”. Yea we have to stand up to this nonsense. I’m so tired of this narrative that minorities are oppressed and every white person lives in luxury and your choices in life don’t matter
The MSM ran op-eds on how Indian Americans weren't committed enough to anti-racism...
They're coming for everyone.
Looks terrific, he's a gifted writer!
(talent, intelligence & hard work = gifted)
Fantastic book, genuinely interesting about Detroit and Jews, I learnt a lot from it.
It's fine, but it's a simplification of Intellectuals and Race, and Immigration and Culture. Which are much more detailed, especially if you add in Conquests and Culture
Hiss, it's Migration and Culture. Infidel.
Migration & Culture is great, but it's not a Masterwork. Pair it with Conquest and Cultures and now you've got something amazing.
But nothing comes close to Knowledge & Decisions.