Thomas Sowell is an American author, economist, social theorist, and political commentator who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential conservative thinkers in the United States. He has written dozens of books and hundreds of articles on topics ranging from economics, history, social policy, ethnicity, and intellectual history.

Sowell is also a prominent black conservative who has challenged the prevailing views on race, culture, and affirmative action. If you are interested in learning more about him, check out the subtitles in this Zatrun.com article.

Who is Thomas Sowell?

Thomas Sowell was born into poverty during the beginnings of the Great Depression in Gastonia, North Carolina, on June 30, 1930. His father died before he was born, and his mother gave him up for adoption to his great-aunt Molly. He grew up in Harlem, New York, where he dropped out of high school and worked various low-skilled jobs. He was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and served as a photographer.

After returning from the war, Sowell enrolled in night classes at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., where he impressed his professors with his aptitude for economics. He transferred to Harvard University and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1958. He then obtained his master’s degree from Columbia University in 1959 and his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1968 under the supervision of Nobel laureate George Stigler.

Thomas Sowell taught economics at various universities, including Rutgers, Howard, Cornell, Brandeis, UCLA, and Amherst. He also worked as a researcher and policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Labor, the Urban Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute. In 1980, he joined the Hoover Institution as a senior fellow. He retired from teaching in 1984 but continued to write and speak on public issues.

Sowell’s Works and Contributions

Thomas Sowell has made significant contributions to various fields of economics, such as economic history, welfare economics, economic development, sociology, political sociology, education, higher education history, intellectual history, African-American history, discrimination, race relations, and historical linguistics. Some of his most notable books include:

• Knowledge and Decisions (1980), which explores how knowledge is dispersed throughout society and how it affects economic and social outcomes.
• A Conflict of Visions (1987), which examines the ideological origins of political disputes and how different visions of human nature shape policy preferences.
• The Vision of the Anointed (1995), which criticizes the self-congratulatory attitude of intellectuals and elites who claim to have superior moral insight and seek to impose their solutions on society.
• Basic Economics (2000), which explains the fundamental principles of economics in a clear and accessible way for general readers.
• Black Rednecks and White Liberals (2005), which challenges the conventional wisdom on race and culture by tracing the origins of black ghetto culture to white southern rednecks and arguing that cultural factors are more important than genetic or environmental ones in explaining group differences.
• Intellectuals and Society (2009), which analyses the role and impact of intellectuals in shaping public opinion and policy and exposes their biases and errors.
• Discrimination and Disparities (2018), which gathers a wide array of empirical evidence to challenge the idea that different economic outcomes can be explained by any one factor, such as discrimination, exploitation or genetics.

His Legacy

Thomas Sowell is widely respected and admired by many scholars, students, journalists, policymakers, and readers who appreciate his rigorous logic, empirical evidence, clear prose, and independent thinking. He has received numerous awards and honours for his work, such as the Francis Boyer Award from the American Enterprise Institute in 1990; the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002; the Bradley Prize in 2004; and the getAbstract International Book Award in 2008.

He has also influenced many other prominent economists and thinkers such as Walter Williams, Larry Elder, Glenn Lowry, and Thomas DiLorenzo. He has also inspired many young people to pursue economics and social sciences as a career.

Thomas Sowell is a remarkable example of a self-made man who overcame poverty, racism, and adversity to become one of the most influential and respected intellectuals of our time. His writings have enriched our understanding of economics, history, culture, and society and have challenged us to think critically and independently about the world we live in.