DISCRIMINATION & DISPARITIES |Thomas Sowell. Hachette Book Group, 308p
Veteran economist Thomas Sowell relies upon facts to lay bare a prevailing dogma of our age, which he terms the “invincible fallacy,” given its resilience. It holds that outcomes of social processes would be equal, subject only to statistical randomness, if not for disparate treatment or underlying innate differences.
Slaying this dragon is a bold endeavor, and Sowell delivers.
If to be crazy is not to grasp reality, then it would be accurate to see much of our culture as nuts.
A sampling of his findings:
The poverty rate for married black Americans is less than the poverty rate for whites as a whole. Is the institution of marriage racist?
Or:
Firstborns, as measured by national merit scholarships or IQ tests, demonstrate consistently higher intellectual aptitude levels. While “equitable justice” might demand an offset, most everyone would recognize this as folly.
Following scores of examples of counter-narrative factual, Sowell makes the compelling case that there is a natural state of unequal outcomes in nature, given the full range of variables.
He outlines factors ranging from differences in age, education, child-rearing, locations, technology, incentives, and marketplace limitations, along with governments, cultural attitudes, and voluntary social sorting, which are all statistically relevant in evaluating causation without mistaking correlation for a cause.
While wonkish at times, Sowell lays bare fallacy after fallacy with convincing data; facts matter.