The Vision of the Anointed

By Thomas Sowell

Categories: Politics & Social Sciences

In this 1995 book, economist Thomas Sowell critiques what he calls the vision of the anointed, the worldview of elites who believe they know how to fix society. Sowell argues that social policies in education, crime and family life failed not as isolated mistakes but because of this vision's flaws. He contends that its advocates replace evidence with rhetoric, seal their ideas off from contrary facts and rarely revise their positions when their predictions prove wrong.

Recommended by 4 people

• Keith Rabois
• David Sacks: “It's right out of The Vision of the Anointed, which was a book Thomas Sowell wrote 30 years ago, where intellectuals throughout history have thought that if they're maximally empowered then they can engineer society in a more benevolent direction.”
• Marc Andreessen: “Ten YET MORE books for understanding The Bonfire Of The Universities: 1.”
• David Heinemeier Hansson: “Sowell would dispute this characterization entirely, and does so very successfully in this book. Especially around the consequences that the welfare policies of the 60s had on black family formation. Great read!”