Sowell’s Most Famous Line About the Nature of Politics (and Why Voters Often Vote Against Their Own Interests)
“Politics is based upon promises which cannot be fulfilled; the first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” Sowell was serious about this. This isn’t simply a quip or an anecdote. Rather, Sowell identified the central dynamic he argued against in virtually every book and article he wrote: Politics creates its own arithmetic by making “promises,” and voters reward candidates for promising, rather than for the mathematics behind such promises.
Sowell Questioned the System Used to Demand Government Action
Beyond specific politicians, Sowell was skeptical of the whole apparatus used by citizens to demand that government act. “Those who scream to get the government to ‘do something’ never, ever ask for data showing what actually happened when the government acted versus what actually occurred when no action was taken by the government.” That’s a call for empirical evidence that most political debates fail to provide, and Sowell made his living providing that type of evidence, rather than the rhetoric surrounding it.
Sowell Was Just as Blunt About How Emotionally Manipulative Much of Today’s Political Language Is
“Said people who want to retain what they’ve earned are greedy, while those who desire to remove the earnings of others and redistribute it to those who will vote for them in return are compassionate” according to the language of politics. Sowell had no issue with generosity. He opposed the system that equates one group’s self-interest with virtues, while equating another group’s self-interest with vices — strictly based on which side of the equation has political power.
His Skepticism Regarding the Idea of a “Fair Society”
Sowell was particularly harsh regarding the single most-often-made argument politicians rely upon to promote further growth in government authority: that society can become equitable through government. “Life has never been anywhere near fair... therefore, the illusion that government can create fairness is a precious resource for politicians seeking greater control over our lives.”
This illustrates Sowell’s view of the business model of governing. An uncorrectable problem is continually presented as needing correction — thus producing an endless supply of votes.
His Skepticism Regarding Accountability in Politics
Sowell also criticized the accountability structure in American politics, where politicians usually face little or no penalty for failing to deliver on their campaign promises — unlike workers in virtually any other profession. Therefore, Sowell relied on data and history to support his positions — not on campaign rhetoric. Politicians require re-elections. Data does not.
How His Approach Toward Economics and Politics Differs
As noted above, Sowell describes himself as an empiricist. He observes evidence, diagnoses problems, and provides remedies for these issues, without regard for how politicians or members of the public may perceive his findings politically. This represents a radically-different approach than nearly all public commentators. Public commentators typically determine their conclusions based upon how appealing they believe they’ll be to their audience.
Therefore, Sowell’s long-standing critique of socialism — as an example of how politics can supersede objective evidence — demonstrates this difference. “Socialism generally has a track record of failure so blatant that only an intellect would choose to ignore or avoid it.” In Sowell’s opinion, this was not primarily a partisan attack. It represented an assessment of what occurs when an electorate decides to allow the political appeal of a candidate to be valued more highly than an examination of results produced by policies advocated by that candidate.
Truth Telling Requires Courage
For Sowell, perhaps his most biting remark concerning honesty in public affairs can explain why he maintained a distance from politics throughout his lifetime. “There are only two ways to tell the full truth: anonymously and posthumously.” While this is clearly a very dark joke, it is an honest description of why Sowell chose to spend his professional time writing books and articles instead of pursuing elective office. Politics rewards popularity. Sowell established his reputation through a consistent willingness to offer factual answers — regardless of whether the public wished to accept them.
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