A Conflict of Visions

For Liberty!---and occasional levity. Freedom Lessons is a meeting place to learn from and equip one another as we persuade others to embrace individual freedom. The goal? A lasting cultural preference for freedom, limited government, free markets, respect for the Constitution and rule of law, and a more sensible and strong national defense. That's all.

The task we take very seriously. Ourselves, well, not so much...

A Conflict of Visions Ideological Origins of Political Struggles
By Thomas Sowell
ISBN 0-465-08142-8

Thomas Sowell is hands-down one of my favorite authors. An economist by training, he writes on an array of subjects. He is a tireless champion of individual freedom. I always come away both impressed and enlightened by his writing.

In Conflict Sowell takes on the task of explaining the ideological underpinnings of the philosophic worldviews that form the intellectual bases of our political opinions. Behind each political view--"conservative" or "liberal"--lies worldviews concerning justice, truth, human nature, knowledge, reason, and power. And beneath these worldviews are deep-rooted social visions, what Sowell calls the "silent shapers of our thoughts."

Sowell labels these visions "constrained" and "unconstrained," dating their genesis to the Renaissance. He traces the political manifestations of these visions to the present-day conflicts between the Right and the Left in American politics. The "constrained" vision acknowledges the limit of what can be achieved through political power and therefore stresses the sense and necessity of restraining the power of government. The "unconstrained" vision sees no reason to restrict expectations and so favors increased government power--why be constrained to the lessons of history and human nature?

Understanding these visions gives readers a deeper appreciation of the premises of the anti-freedom bias of the day, and Conflict leaves them equipped to refute those premises.