Rating: 
Summary: Reviewers inadvertently critique their own movement
Review: I am dying to read this book, just because the reviews show such a lack of introspection as to be ludicrous! For example, one reader accuses liberals of intellectual laziness, smugly asserting that liberals, of course, will never read this book because liberals never read self crtiticism. That tone runs rampant through many of these reviews. and it's quite telling. I see the same blanket statements on conservative reviews of their annointed authors as well as those they disagree with. The name calling and generalization betrays a shocking indifference, not only to intellectualism, but to what I believe, was the cornerstone of the Constitution: A healthy repect for debate, for fairness, for idealism. If Sowell's language and tone bears resemblance to his fans, it will serve only as a further bludgeon to our discourse. But, I will read the book, if only to rise above conservatives who violate their own principles by condescending to anyone who does not echo their views.
Rating:
Summary: How the left thinks
Review: The "anointed" is what Sowell calls the left wing. He is a conservative, holding the "tragic vision" of the world. This book is opposition research on how the left sees the world, what sort of policies they advocate, and the results of those policies.
The anointed assume they possess much knowledge about how to solve society's problems. Take crime. Sowell quotes William Godwin who wrote: "It is impossible that a man would perpetrate a crime, in the moment when he sees it in all its enormity." Sowell also quotes Ramsey Clark, who likewise believed that "healthy, rational people will not injure others." Sowell's interpretation is this: "In both cases, it is the failure of 'society' that causes crime, with the criminal being the victim of circumstances." In the vision of the anointed, government programs to provide education and health care would reduce crime. Costs are of no concern. "The cost problem is often waved aside", explains Sowell, "by some such general statement as 'Surely a country that can put a man on the moon ...' or fight a war in the Persian Gulf, or build a national highway system, etc., can afford to do whatever is proposed."
The author skewers "Teflon prophets" on the left. Sowell quotes James Galbraith who claimed that "no large United States corporation, which is also large in its industry, has failed or been seriously in danger of solvency in many years." Sowell lists several large corporations that either went bankrupt or came close, such as Chrysler Corporation. Sowell calls Paul Ehrlich on his 1968 prediction that "In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death ... ." Ehrlich's inaccurate predictions don't seem to irk Sowell as much as the "power agenda" he advocates. Perhaps Sowell's dismay is that even though Ehrlich went so far as to recommend "population control," his predictions were way off and his character remains "untarnished."
In addition to explaining how the left thinks, Sowell outlines how the left implements and defends its ideas and policies. One approach is "the pattern" of declaring a "crisis," proposing a "solution," and then denying any adverse outcomes. Another technique is judicial activism whose proponents "seek judicial decisions which reach beyond these confines [of the U.S. Constitution] to encompass more sweeping moral principles." The media also favor the left. Sowell does not focus on the bias of individuals. Instead he points out the "bias inherent in the way both broadcast and print media operate." "In short," what he means is "the built-in bias of the media is to show what happens right under our noses, with little or no regard to what that has cost elsewhere."
The Vision of the Anointed is an expression of Sowell's contempt for social "engineering." Any member of the anointed would face a difficult task to write an equally effective rebuttal. If you don't know whether you're "anointed" or "benighted," reading the book will help you decide.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good / some worthless.
Review: This book is a mixed bag. Some parts were good, such as his (ultimately inconclusive) attack on the "middle and lower class Americans haven't gotten richer in two decades" argument. His evidence of the existence of economic mobility (individuals moving into higher income brackets over time) is correct, but lacks additional justification of this information (which exists, but not in this book). His take on racial issues is subpar.Mortgage loan study: I believe that there is no prevalent racial discrimination in mortgage laons, but sowell's attempt to prove this is lacking. His "proof" goes as follows. -Were mortgage lending discriminatory, blacks would have to be more qualified to attain loans
-by virtue of being more qualified , these blacks would ahve to pay lower default rates.
-blacks who are accepted pay approx. the same rates, therefore, there is no widespread discrimination. Do you see the fallacy? I do. Sowell fails to distinguish between "qualification" and one's statistics in certain areas used to determine qualification. Let's say that there is a black guy who makes $15,000 per year, and a white guy who makes $10,000. In the discriminatory lenders eyes, they have an equal degree of qualification. Presumably, in setting the rate, the lender will consider whatever additional areas he used to deem the two "equal"....rather than ignoring their race and setting it according to their income. An equal rate is fully compatible with discriminatory lending. The fact that a woman who conducted the study conceded Sowell's point probably means she was just a stupid beuraucrat who got intimidated in an interview. Sowell manages to prove that all discrepancies between groups are not caused by discrimination, however, the relevance of this to racial issues in present day America are suspect.The implications of his chronological account of the destruction of the black family commit the "correlation equals causation" fallacy.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: This book is an absolute masterpiece. Sowell absolutely obliterates the liberal/socialist viewpoint in this book. Piece by piece, he handily picks their arguments apart and exposes the true agenda behind the veil of so-called 'compassion' that they routinely preach. This is a great work, and should be required reading for anyone even remotely interested in politics. If anyone on the left side of the political spectrum were to read this book, they would face some devastating realities. Their vision of the world would be hit hard, and ultimately collapse--painful, yes...but absolutely necessary to be an informed and honest citizen. Five stars, easy.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good for debate and thinking points
Review: I really like Thomas Sowell's books and columns so i was looking foreward to reading Vision of the Anoited looking at sociel policy brought by the left. In the first chapter Sowell looks at how manyn doomsday projections have been made by the left like Malthus's idea on populatio have not held up over time. With the second chapter Sowell looks at how many social policies have failed such as the war on poverty and sex education. He looks at how crises have been defined, how solutions have arise, the results of the suolution and the later response that critize the way in which the problem was handeled. In the third chapter, Sowell looks at how statistics may create problems that may not actually exist. THe fourth chapter, irrelevance of evidence, Sowell looks at how evidence may not hold up certain arguements like Paul Enrlich's book the Population bomb and Ralph Nader's book unsafe at any speed. In the following chapter, Sowell look at how elite groups may define the struggles of other groups for them. In the next chapter, Sowell looks at the crusades of the annointed such as trying to disprove connections between AIDS and high risk groups. In chapter seven, Sowelll looks at the vocabulary of the anointed such as access, stigma, progressive, diversity and crises and how such definations may not be beneficial because it creates probelems without debating them and looks over other things like personal responsibility. In chpater eight, Sowell looks at law and justice to examine how law is becoming more subject to popular opinion. In the last chapter, Sowell talks about how the anointed try to impose their ideology through government
Pretty good to think about one's own opinions'
Rating:
Summary: Sowell Masterfully Exposes Liberal Elitist Garbage!
Review: In "The Vision of the Anointed," Thomas Sowell does a masterful job in exposing all of the rhetorical garbage with which we are bombarded at the hands of the liberal elite intelligensia. This books outlines and analyzes the many legal social policy decisions rendered over the years based upon this group's own ever-growing sense of their own moral superiority - i.e. "anointed vision" - and how such rulings and policies have had often counterproductive (and sometimes disastrous) outcomes. Some common themes that emanate from reading this book regarding those who espouse this anointed vision are: 1. They are absolutely convinced of the righteousness of their views and policies despite in some cases mountains of empirical evidence to the contrary; 2. Instead of attempting to understand opposing views (much less debate them), those with the anointed vision use verbal sleight-of-hand to evade such views - and even try to denigrate and publicly discredit those who espouse them; 3. They have a tendency of hiding behind their "good intentions" when the policies put in place based on their vision blow up in their faces, asserting that things would have been "even worse" were it not for their "vision"; 4. They view certain aspects of reality that do not conform to their "vision" as "problems" or even "crises" in need of "solutions," as opposed to systemic processes involving normal human interactions and economic trade-offs; 5. They interpret everything from the U.S. Constitution and legal statues to statistics on such things as "income distribution," crime, and the "legacy of slavery" in explaining the rise of black single-parent homes since the 1960s, in ways that fit ever-so-neatly with their vision, history, the real world and all opposing views be damned. To quote one of the most poignant passages in the book, Sowell discusses the issue of crime as follows: "Those with the vision of the anointed are especially reluctant to see human nature as a source of the evils they wish to eradicate. Instead, they seek special causes of particular evils. Nothing so exemplifies this approach as the perennial attempts to get at the... 'root causes'... of crime. There seems to be no awareness that people commit crimes because they are human beings. That is, people's natural impulses are to favor themselves over others and to disregard the harm they create in trying to satisfy their own desires in the easiest way. If most people do not behave this way..., it is because they have been through a long process of becoming civilized - and because this process is buttressed by law enforcement. Civilization has been aptly called, 'a thin crust over a volcano.' The anointed are constantly picking at that crust." (pg. 250) For those who really want to be enlightened and informed citizens, buy this book, read it carefully, and take notes.
Rating:
Summary: A polarizing bolt of lightning
Review: I love this book. First of all, Sowell is one of the best writers on political thought around. Second he uses real examples (well documented so we can get to the original citations) rather than tossing up generalizations. Finally, he goes against "common knowledge" to state what we realize is true, unless we are one of the anointed who cannot. I would give this book to everyone I know so that they can better understand why the news drives them crazy. The only problem I see is that discussing this type of book with one of the anointed is like trying to describe color to a blind man - they just can't see it.
Rating:
Summary: Good subject, but really dry style.
Review: This would probably be a great school textbook. By which I mean that it is informative, well documented, and fairly short.
However, the style is awfully dry. I'm sure a political science major would have no problem reading this book, but I need a little more.
If you are not into hardcore political/sociological science, I would recommend "The burden of bad ideas", by Heather Mac Donald, which treats about roughly the same subject, and is much more accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Debunking liberal arguments that are never made
Review: Vision of the Anointed is a powerful book that exposes the strategies, vocabulary, and denial of logical evidence that is so prevalent on the left side of the political spectrum. Sowell, who exposes the weaknesses of liberalism in all it's facets, has successfully written one of the best books on the subject. He pulls no punches and covers numerous topics. Judicial activism with regards to crime and other liberal utopian social projects are totally digested in a superior mind. Sowell then with the help of evidence, common sense, and a little dose of reality, shatters all the evidenciary arguments liberals try so hard not to make. A MUST READ!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of Sowell's best, and that's saying something
Review: Does an excellent job examining the philosophical differences that create political diffeences. A nice expansion on some of the themes in "Conflict of Visions."
|
