Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
The grand delusion of contemporary liberals is that they have both the right and the ability to move their fellow creatures around like blocks of wood - and that the end results will be no different than if people had voluntarily chosen the same action
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the belief that people can be controlled for a greater good without their consent, highlighting the difference between coercion and voluntary choice.
In this quote, Thomas Sowell expresses his skepticism towards the modern liberal ideology that suggests society can be rearranged or directed by those in power as if individuals are mere objects. He emphasizes the importance of individual choice and the inherent flaws in the assumption that manipulated outcomes will equate to those resulting from voluntary decisions. This perspective urges a reflection on the moral implications of treating people like pieces on a game board, thus questioning the beliefs of those who advocate for such control.
Themes
LibertyChoiceControlIndividualityPhilosophyContemporaryManipulation
In practice
Example use cases
During a political debate, one might use this quote to illustrate the dangers of overreach in governance.
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All quotes βBlacks were not enslaved because they were black but because they were available. Slavery has existed in the world for thousands of years. Whites enslaved other whites in Europe for centuries before the first black was brought to the Western hemisphere. Asians enslaved Europeans. Asians enslaved other Asians. Africans enslaved other Africans, and indeed even today in North Africa, blacks continue to enslave blacks.
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One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
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You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
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The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
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Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
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