These wide-ranging essays—on many individual political, economic, cultural and legal issues—have as a recurring, underlying theme, the decline of the values and institutions that have sustained and advanced American society for more than two centuries. This decline has been more than an erosion. It has, in many cases, been a deliberate dismantling of American values and institutions by people convinced that their superior wisdom and virtue must over-ride both the traditions of the country and the will of the people.
Whether these essays (originally published as syndicated newspaper columns) are individually about financial bailouts, illegal immigrants, gay marriage, national security, or the Duke University rape case, the underlying concern is about what these very different kinds of things say about the general direction of American society.
This larger and longer-lasting question is whether the particular issues discussed reflect a degeneration or dismantling of the America that we once knew and expected to pass on to our children and grandchildren. There are people determined that this country’s values, history, laws, traditions and role in the world are fundamentally wrong and must be changed. Such people will not stop dismantling America unless they get stopped—and the next election may be the last time to stop them, before they take the country beyond the point of no return.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for the works of Thomas Sowell:
For anyone looking for a straightforward and honest discussion of the origins of our current crisis, informed by a deep understanding of both economics and politics. . . —Washington Times
I’ve read all his books and never been even faintly disappointed. –Fred Barnes, executive editor of the Weekly Standard
Thomas Sowell is, in my opinion, the most original and interesting philosopher at work in America. –Paul Johnson, author of Modern Times
[T]hese vigorously argued essays present a stimulating challenge to the conventional wisdom. –Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Thomas Sowell has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst and other academic institutions, and his Basic Economics has been translated into six languages. He is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has published in both academic journals in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine and Fortune, and writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country.
From the Back Cover
That Barack Obama in office has often done the exact opposite of what Barack Obama said as a candidate, on issue after issue, should not cause half the surprise and disappointment that it has produced in many people who pinned high hopes on him. The really painful surprise is that so many people based their hopes on his words, rather than on his deeds. However, our concern is not with one man but with a country. When we look back at the decades-long erosions and distortions of our educational system, our legal system and our political system, we must acknowledge the chilling fact that the kinds of dangers we face now were always inherent in these degenerating trends. These essays deal with these trends individually, but it may help to keep in mind that they were all going on at the same time.
