Discrimination and Disparities

John reviewed Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell

Review of 'Discrimination and Disparities' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I am underwhelmed by the scientific rigor in this book. "Empirical" is a stretch. While Sowell provides lots of citations and raw data, he uses then to reach conclusions which fall over to the lightest of logical breezes. Unfortunately, the conclusions which stand to criticism arn’t the least bit new or interesting. I was hoping he would address some of the underpinnings of the discussed disparities, however he all but ignores huge societal factors such as red lining and environmental conditions.

Unfortunately, he often cited opinion pieces who's underlying methods I couldn't find.

I can appreciate the distinction between the types of discrimination, and I believe it to be a useful synchronization of terminology. That doesn't make up for the incompleteness of the rest of the book

Zelanator reviewed Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell

Review of 'Discrimination and Disparities' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fairly quick listen through Audible, and the narrator did the best to make dry statistics and various economic problems interesting.

In brief, Sowell rejects the "invincible fallacy" that if it were not for discrimination (i.e. against racial, gender, or ethnic groups) all individuals could potentially have equal economic outcomes in a free market society. He cites a wealth of empirical evidence that people with similar backgrounds and even those who grew up in the same household (such as twins) had disparate socioeconomic outcomes. During an election season where the Democratic party seems to be leaning further to the left and further toward embracing socialism, this book offers a dense, yet succinct, argument against equal outcomes social justice crusades and the idea that bigger government can solve socioeconomic disparities between groups.

Perhaps the most important concept Sowell lays out in this book is what he terms "prerequisites." In essence, he argues …

Fairly quick listen through Audible, and the narrator did the best to make dry statistics and various economic problems interesting.

In brief, Sowell rejects the "invincible fallacy" that if it were not for discrimination (i.e. against racial, gender, or ethnic groups) all individuals could potentially have equal economic outcomes in a free market society. He cites a wealth of empirical evidence that people with similar backgrounds and even those who grew up in the same household (such as twins) had disparate socioeconomic outcomes. During an election season where the Democratic party seems to be leaning further to the left and further toward embracing socialism, this book offers a dense, yet succinct, argument against equal outcomes social justice crusades and the idea that bigger government can solve socioeconomic disparities between groups.

Perhaps the most important concept Sowell lays out in this book is what he terms "prerequisites." In essence, he argues that any successful occupation requires a number of prerequisites and the absence of just one could mean the difference between success and failure. For example, he cites a study of 100 men with IQs of 140+ who, for various reasons, varied in their eventual outcomes. Some were auto mechanics. Others were CEOs. Pretty interesting read overall.

NewCountry

rated it

April 5, 2023

piotr

rated it

March 17, 2019