Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit

Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit - Thomas Sowell [Druckversion]

Thomas Sowell

"Freedom has cost the blood of millions in obscure places and in historic sites ranging from Gettysburg to the Gulag Archipelago. [...] Perhaps nowhere in the world is anyone frankly against it, though everywhere there are those prepared to scrap it for other things that shine more brightly in the moment. That something that cost so much in human lives should be surrendered piecemeal in exchange for visions or rhetoric seems grotesque. Freedom is not simply the right of intellectuals to circulate their merchandise. It is, above all, the right of ordinary people to find elbow room for themselves and a refuge from the rampaging presumptions of their 'betters.'"

Thomas Sowell was born in 1930 and grew up in Harlem. Like many others, he did not finish highschool. As a photographer, he joined the military for the Korean War. Back in the U.S., he found a part-time employment in this field. Besides, he started attending Harvard University and passionately studied economics. After a degree magna cum laude from Harvard, he continued his studies at Columbia University and the University of Chicago.

After having worked for the U.S. Department of Labor and for AT&T, Sowell obtained his first professorship at Cornell University. Throughout his life, he lectured at a large number of American universities.

Sowell published a dozen books and numerous articles and essays. In the 1980s he started to write as a successful columnist. In 1990, he won the prestigious Francis Boyer Award. Today, Sowell is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute in Stanford CA.

One of his major works is Knowledge and Decisions, which presents with an incredible abundance of facts and ground-breaking insights a strong case for liberty. This book, which is based on an analysis of the role of knowledge in society, found great appraisal by Hayek. Without doubt, it is one of the most convincing and profound books on modern conservativ-liberal thought.

Bibliography:

The Quest for Cosmic Justice (Free Press, 1999)

Conquests and Cultures (Basic Books, 1998)

Migrations and Cultures: A World View (Basic Books, 1996)

The Vision of the Anointed (Basic Books, 1995)

Race and Culture: A World View (Basic Books, 1994)

A Conflict of Visions (William Morrow, 1987)

Ethnic America: A History (Basic Books, 1981)

Knowledge and Decisions (Basic Books, 1980)

Say's Law: A Historical Analysis (Princeton Univ.Press, 1972)

related web-links:
Thomas Sowell's Homepage