![]() First edition cover | |
Author | Thomas Sowell |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Basic Books |
ISBN | 0465082939 |
OCLC | 949009674 |
Preceded by | Basic Economics (5th edition) |
Followed by | Discrimination and Disparities |
Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective is a book by American economist and social theorist Thomas Sowell. It was originally published by Basic Books in 2015, with an updated version published in 2016. In the work, Sowell argues against the notion that economic equality is solely natural, and examines geographic, cultural, social, and political factors that have contributed to the wealth of groups and nations.
The response to the book is broadly aligned with partisan views, with support coming mostly from conservative and right-wing critics, and general criticism from politically central and left-leaning publications and journalists.
Writing in The Washington Post , Steven Pearlstein argued that Sowell's pinning of the blame for black poverty on multiculturalism and welfare is unconvincing, and added that "ghetto culture" cannot explain the problems in white America. Pearlstein wrote that the book "is filled with such instances of overreach" and stated, "What we [...] learn from Wealth, Poverty and Politics is that there is apparently no level of inequality of income or opportunity that Thomas Sowell would consider unacceptable." [1] Sowell himself denied accepting unequal opportunity in a Townhall response to Pearlstein. [2]
A writer for Kirkus Reviews provided a mixed response to the book, writing that Sowell's "implied argument that cultural considerations must inform any serious attempt at improving the economic prospects of an underperforming nation or group merits serious consideration". Despite saying that Sowell too often downplays factors that don't support his conservatism, the reviewer also said that Sowell "raises many inconvenient facts that should trouble advocates of diversity and cultural relativism, and he effectively refutes progressives' excuses for why their approaches to eliminating poverty have too often produced government dependence and social breakdown." [3]
In a column for conservative publication The Independent Review , Gary M. Galles of religious college Pepperdine University stated that Sowell "thinks carefully and creatively through widely held premises and the narratives they support, bolstering his analysis with a vast array of evidence that offers insights for the intellectually curious". Galles argued that the author is effective in showing how "massive variations in access to ideas and culture, as well as goods and services, overwhelm any expectation of equality of productivity". [4] In The Washington Times , Wes Vernon lauded the book as a "calmly phrased but damning indictment", praising Sowell's "mountains of research" as disproving opposing arguments. [5] A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote, "Open-minded readers will find Sowell’s directness, honesty, and common sense refreshing and often wise." [6] George Mason University economist Walter E. Williams gave the 2016 updated edition a positive review, particularly praising the discussion of earnings differences. [7]
Reihan Salam of National Review criticized Sowell's view on the chief obstacles facing poor native-born blacks, suggesting that their problems "can be explained at least in part by the failure of governments to protect African Americans from violence. For much of U.S. history, officialdom turned a blind eye to 'black-on-black' violence, which in effect meant that predators routinely got away with murder". [8]
A ghetto, often called the ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other areas of the city. Versions of the ghetto appear across the world, each with their own names, classifications, and groupings of people.
Thomas Sowell is an American author, economist, political commentator, social theorist, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He was a recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002.
The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. The speech led the United States Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty. The forty programs established by the Act were collectively aimed at eliminating poverty by improving living conditions for residents of low-income neighborhoods and by helping the poor access economic opportunities long denied from them.
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth. Besides economic inequality between countries or states, there are important types of economic inequality between different groups of people.
The American Conservative (TAC) is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has been bi-monthly.
Black Rednecks and White Liberals is a collection of six essays by Thomas Sowell. The collection, published in 2005, explores various aspects of race and culture, both in the United States and abroad. The first essay, the book's namesake, traces the origins of the "ghetto" African-American culture to the culture of Scotch-Irish Americans in the Antebellum South. The second essay, "Are Jews Generic?", discusses middleman minorities. The third essay, "The Real History of Slavery," discusses the timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom. The last three essays discuss the history of Germany, African-American education, and a criticism of multiculturalism.
Edward Christie Banfield was an American political scientist, best known as the author of The Moral Basis of a Backward Society (1958), and The Unheavenly City (1970). His work was foundational to the advent of the policing tactic of broken windows theory, which was first advocated by his mentee James Q. Wilson in an Atlantic Monthly article entitled "Broken Windows".
Walter Edward Williams was an American economist, commentator, and academic. Williams was the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author. Known for his classical liberal and libertarian views, Williams's writings frequently appeared in Townhall, WND, and Jewish World Review. Williams was also a popular guest host of the Rush Limbaugh radio show when Limbaugh was unavailable.
Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population is a 2008 book by Matthew Connelly, an associate professor of history at Columbia University.
Patrick Ruffini is a Republican Party pollster and political strategist in the United States. He founded Engage, LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based political media firm, and now runs the political research and intelligence firm, Echelon Insights
Star Parker is an American syndicated columnist, Republican politician, author, and conservative political activist. In 1995, she founded the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE). In 2010, she was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in California's 37th District.
John E. Schwarz is an American political scientist.
Lane Kenworthy is an American professor of sociology and political science. He has worked at the University of Arizona since 2004, being a full professor since 2007. He is known for his statistical and analytic work on the economic effects of income and wealth distribution. He currently teaches at the University of California, San Diego.
Jason L. Riley is an American conservative commentator and author. He is a member of The Wall Street Journal's editorial board. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and has appeared on the Journal Editorial Report, other Fox News programs and C-SPAN. He is Black and writes about his Black experience in America as a Conservative.
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis is a bestselling 2016 memoir by future Ohio Senator J. D. Vance about the Appalachian values of his Kentucky family and the social and socioeconomic problems of his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, where his mother's parents moved when they were young.
Michael R. Strain is an American economist. He is currently the Director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also a research fellow at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, and a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Strain's research focuses on labor economics, public finance, and social policy.
Reihan Morshed Salam is a conservative American political commentator, columnist and author who since 2019 has been president of the Manhattan Institute. He was previously executive editor of National Review, a columnist for Slate, a contributing editor at National Affairs, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, an interviewer for VICE and a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.
Melting Pot or Civil War? is a 2018 book about American immigration policy by Reihan Salam
Charter Schools and Their Enemies is a 2020 book by American economist, social theorist and author Thomas Sowell, in which he compares the educational outcomes of school children educated at charter schools with those at conventional public schools. He argues that charter schools on the whole do significantly better in terms of educational outcomes than conventional schools.
Basic Economics is a non-fiction book by American economist Thomas Sowell published by Basic Books in 2000. The original subtitle was A Citizen's Guide to the Economy, but from the third edition in 2007 on it was subtitled A Common Sense Guide to the Economy.