Is Reality Optional?

And Other Essays

By: Thomas Sowell

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Paperback | 1 November 1993

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192 Pages

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26.7 x 16.5 x 3.9

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Quotes from the book:

"Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good. In area after area--crime, education, housing, race relations--the situation has gotten worse after the bright new theories were put into operation. The amazing thing is that this history of failure and disaster has neither discouraged the social engineers nor discredited them."

"Some things must be done on faith, but the most dangerous kind of faith is that which masquerades as 'science.' As the pretense of science has replaced commonsense experience, we have abandoned many old-fashioned practices that worked in favor of high-sounding innovations that have led to disaster."

"The assumption that spending more of the taxpayers' money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The black family--which survived slavery, discrimination, poverty, wars, and depressions--began to come apart as the federal government moved in with its well-financed programs to 'help.'"

"Worst of all, guilt has so furtively stolen into many hearts and minds that people feel apologetic about being civilized, educated, and productive when others are barbaric, uneducated, and parasitic. When civilization apologizes to barbarism, something has gone very wrong at a very fundamental level."

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Introduction
The Social Scene
Is Reality Optional?	p. 3
Grasshopper and Ant	p. 5
Families under Siege	p. 7
Saving the Whales	p. 9
Apologizing for Civilization	p. 10
Being "With It"	p. 12
Wise Man	p. 14
The Green Bigots Turn Bloody	p. 16
Science versus Unisex	p. 18
Abusing Children - and the Truth	p. 20
Social Deterioration	p. 22
What's News?	p. 24
The Real Anita Hill	p. 26
The Chump Society	p. 28
The World Scene
India's Economy	p. 33
China's Birth Control	p. 35
Bilingualism in Singapore	p. 37
Beggars in Paris	p. 39
Western Civilization under Siege	p. 41
Testing Intelligence	p. 43
The Mindset of Munich	p. 45
All Over the Map	p. 47
Despotism in Retreat	p. 49
The Economic Scene
"Rich" and "Poor" Statistics	p. 53
"Needs"	p. 54
Who Watches the Watchers?	p. 56
The Nobel Prize in Economics	p. 58
Homelessness and Property Rights	p. 61
Photography and the Economy	p. 63
Social Security Fraud	p. 65
Profit Without Honor	p. 67
"Non-Profit" Without Honor	p. 69
George J. Stigler (1911-1991)	p. 71
The Political Scene
The Century of the Intellectual	p. 75
Media Bias	p. 77
Wars over Values	p. 79
The Left versus the Common Man	p. 81
Super Safety	p. 83
The Time of the Tinkerers	p. 84
Nibbling Away Freedom	p. 86
Throwing Money - and Intercepting It	p. 88
Spoiled Brat Politics	p. 90
Dangerous Government	p. 92
AIDS Testing	p. 94
Drug Addicts and Busybody Addicts	p. 96
What is "Conservatism"?	p. 98
"Aha!" Statistics	p. 100
"Aha!" Statistics (No. 2)	p. 102
"Aha!" Statistics (No. 3)	p. 104
"Aha!" Statistics (No. 4)	p. 106
"Impossible" Political Reforms	p. 108
The Education Scene
Excuse Time	p. 113
Minority College Students	p. 115
Brainwashing in School	p. 116
The Economics of Academe	p. 119
Quotas Against Asians	p. 121
"Sex Education" Fraud	p. 123
The Future of Academe	p. 125
Unsung Heroes	p. 127
Students as Pawns	p. 129
Student Loans	p. 131
Multicultural Madness	p. 133
The Legal Scene
"Views" versus Integrity	p. 139
The Anti-trust Picture	p. 141
Supreme Second-Guessers	p. 142
Supreme Chutzpah	p. 144
Will Property Rights Return?	p. 146
Court Politicians	p. 148
Courting the Anointed	p. 150
The Constitution	p. 152
The Racial Scene
"Minorities"	p. 157
Historical Apologies	p. 159
"Affirmative Action" Backlash	p. 161
Race and Religion	p. 163
Apartheid in Adoptions	p. 165
Stereotypes versus the Market	p. 167
A Look Back	p. 169
The Un-Quota	p. 171
"Leaders" and "Spokesmen"	p. 173
Gratitude to Fat Cats	p. 175
Racial Statistics	p. 177
Moral Monopoly	p. 179
Racial Paranoia	p. 181
The New Racial Etiquette	p. 183
An Exceptional Need	p. 185
Random Thoughts
Random Thoughts	p. 189
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Is Reality Optional?

And Other Essays

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Politics & Government

The Right Hand

Conversations with the chiefs of staff to the world's most powerful people

The Emergency

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Earthquake

the election that shook Australia

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For The People

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Turbulence

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This Way Up

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