Thomas Sowell's works address issues that remain relevant today and extend beyond the American context. In analyzing societal problems, he criticizes the left for its economic welfare dependency and lack of individual responsibility, emphasizing the need to understand the consequences of its ideological visions. Sowell's empirically rich and well-documented research has established him as a severe critic of the American left, arguing that by yielding to convenient explanations for inequalities, it has become the greatest obstacle to improving the conditions of many minorities. His books, brilliant in intelligence and impeccable in seriousness, deserve to be read as the issues discussed are unfortunately still relevant, and not only in America.

Thomas Sowell, a descendant of slaves, was born on June 30, 1930, in Gastonia, North Carolina, during the era of legal segregation. Orphaned at a young age, he grew up in extreme poverty and later moved to Harlem, New York. Despite dropping out of high school due to financial difficulties, Sowell pursued education with determination, eventually graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1958. He later earned a master's degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago under Nobel laureate George Stigler.

Sowell began his career as an economist but expanded his work to address sociological, political, historical, and cultural issues. Over his prolific career, he has written more than 50 books and numerous essays. His works critically examine accepted assumptions about social policies, focusing on empirical evidence. Sowell is particularly known for his critiques of American liberal policies, arguing that they often perpetuate dependency and hinder minority progress by discouraging individual initiative.

A senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution since 1980, Sowell has become one of the most influential public intellectuals in the United States. His writings on economics and social issues remain highly relevant today.

1-"Racism is not dead, but it is on life support - kept alive mainly by those who use it as an excuse or to keep minorities in a state of fear or resentment sufficient for them to vote as a bloc on election day."

2-"The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - regardless of their skin color - who find in this paranoid vision an excuse for counterproductive and ultimately self-destructive attitudes and behavior."

3-"It seems we are moving closer and closer to a situation where no one is responsible for what they have done, but we are all responsible for what someone else has done."

4-"Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a replacement of what worked with what sounded good."

5-"No one is equal to anyone else. Even a man is not equal to himself on different days."

6-"You cannot subsidize irresponsibility and expect people to become more responsible."

7-"There is nothing so good that politicians cannot make it bad and nothing so bad that politicians cannot make it worse. Compassion is a good thing, but politicians have turned it into a welfare state. Crime is a bad thing, but politicians have made it worse by being lenient towards criminals."

8-"When politicians say 'spread the wealth,' translate it as 'concentrate the power,' because that is how they spread the wealth. And once power is concentrated, they can do whatever they want, as people have discovered - often with horror - in many parts of the world."

9-"Many members of the political left are so fascinated by the beauty of their vision that they do not see the horrible reality they are creating in the real world."

10-"When people try to see how far they can push things, that's the time to let them know they've already pushed too far."

11-"When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment soon becomes considered discrimination."