Dakota Beacon

An odd nod to Black History Month – odd because the following two gents would never be nominated by liberal Black history proponents. These two influential Blacks taught me what I know about economics. Both are highly qualified economists, academics, authors, and social commentators. In tribute, let them speak for themselves in their own words.

First, Thomas Sowell, PhD (1930 -). Economist, educator, political pundit, radio personality, and syndicated columnist, Sowell has written extensively (over 40 books) on economics, race, culture, and political philosophy as well as a long‑running syndicated column. As the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, his teaching career spans Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other universities. Sowell’s quotes --

“Black History Month might more accurately be called ‘the sins of white people’ month.”

“Blacks 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.”

“Have we reached the ultimate stage of absurdity where some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born while other people are not held responsible for what they themselves are doing today?”

“The time is long overdue to stop looking for progress through racial or ethnic leaders. Such leaders have too many incentives to promote polarizing attitudes and actions that are counterproductive for minorities and disastrous for the country.”

“What ‘multiculturalism’ boils down to is that you can praise any culture in the world except Western culture – and you cannot blame any culture in the world except Western culture.”

“The next time some academic tells you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.”

“When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”

“Racism is not dead, but it is on life support -- kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as 'racists'”

“The word 'racism' is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything -- and demanding evidence makes you a 'racist.'”

Now for Walter E. Williams, PhD (1936-2020). Like Thomas Sowell he also was an economist, educator, political pundit, radio personality, syndicated columnist, and John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University. Their overlapping time at UCLA in the early 1970s strongly suggests that they likely met there -- Williams as a graduate student and Sowell as faculty. Sowell repeatedly referred to Williams as his best friend for half a century, which implies a friendship beginning roughly in the early 1970s. Williams’s quotes --

“What our nation needs is a separation of ‘business and state’ as it has a separation of ‘church and state.’ That would mean crony capitalism and crony socialism could not survive.”

“But let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn, and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you – and why?”

“Here’s Williams’ roadmap out of poverty: Complete high school; get a job, …get married before having children, and be a law-abiding citizen. Among both black and white Americans so described, the poverty rate is in the single digits.”

“The difference between a thief and a congressman: When a thief steals your money, he doesn’t expect you to thank him.”

“I believe that reaching into your own pockets to help someone in need is praiseworthy and laudable. Reaching into somebody else’s pockets to help your fellow man in need is despicable.”

“Wealth comes from successful individual efforts to please one’s fellow man…that’s what competition is all about: ‘outpleasing’ your competitors to win over the consumers.”

“Prior to capitalism, the way people amassed great wealth was by looting, plundering, and enslaving their fellow man. Capitalism made it possible to become wealthy serving your fellow man.”

“What we call the market is really a democratic process involving millions, and in some markets billions, of people making personal decisions that express their preferences. When you hear someone say that he doesn’t trust the market, and wants to replace it with government edicts, he’s really calling for a switch from a democratic process to a totalitarian one.”

“For 50 years, the well-meaning leftist agenda has been able to do to blacks what Jim Crow and harsh discrimination could never have done: family breakdown, illegitimacy, and low academic achievement.”

“If our country is to survive and prosper, we must summon the courage to condemn and reject the liberal agenda, and we had better do it soon.”

“The Framers gave us the Second Amendment not so we could go deer or duck hunting but to give us a modicum of protection against congressional tyranny.”

Thought you would like to know about these Black men. These men will not be recognized during Black History Month. They do not fit the narrative.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).