Knowledge and Decisions
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Narrated by:
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Robertson Dean
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By:
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Thomas Sowell
About this listen
This reissue of Thomas Sowell’s classic study of decision making, which includes a preface by the author, updates his seminal work in the context of The Vision of the Anointed. Sowell, one of America’s most celebrated public intellectuals, describes in concrete detail how knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout modern society. He warns that society suffers from an ever-widening gap between firsthand knowledge and decision making—a gap that threatens not only our economic and political efficiency but our very freedom. This is because actual knowledge is being replaced by assumptions based on an abstract and elitist social vision of what ought to be.
Knowledge and Decisions, a winner of the 1980 Law and Economics Center Prize, was heralded as a landmark work and selected for this prize “because of its cogent contribution to our understanding of the differences between the market process and the process of government.” In announcing the award, the center acclaimed that the “contribution to our understanding of the process of regulation alone would make the book important, but in reemphasizing the diversity and efficiency that the market makes possible, [this] work goes deeper and becomes even more significant.”
Thomas Sowell is currently a scholar in residence at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has been published in both academic journals and such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fortune and writes a syndicated column for newspapers across the country.
©1980 Basic Books, Inc. Preface 1996 by Thomas Sowell (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In Ill Fares The Land, Tony Judt, one of our leading historians and thinkers, reveals how we have arrived at our present dangerously confused moment. Judt masterfully crystallizes what we've all been feeling into a way to think our way into, and thus out of, our great collective dis-ease about the current state of things.
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Blah, Blah, Blah.
- By Michael on 07-15-10
By: Tony Judt
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The Economics of Inequality
- By: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Succinct, accessible, and authoritative, Thomas Piketty’s The Economics of Inequality is the ideal place to start for those who want to understand the fundamental issues at the heart of one the most pressing concerns in contemporary economics and politics. This work now appears in English for the first time.
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A Survey of the Economics of Inequality
- By Darwin8u on 12-19-16
By: Thomas Piketty, and others
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The Socialist Temptation
- By: Iain Murray
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Just 30 years ago, socialism seemed utterly discredited. An economic, moral, and political failure, socialism had rightly been thrown on the ash heap of history after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately, bad ideas never truly go away — and socialism has come back with a vengeance. A generation of young people who don’t remember the misery that socialism inflicted on Russia and Eastern Europe is embracing it all over again.
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Full Of Important Insights
- By Ralph Alderson on 12-17-20
By: Iain Murray
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The Sovereign Individual
- Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
- By: James Dale Davidson, Peter Thiel - preface, William Rees-Mogg
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 19 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Two renowned investment advisors and authors of the best seller The Great Reckoning bring to light both currents of disaster and the potential for prosperity and renewal in the face of radical changes in human history as we move into the next century. The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.
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Unfortunately distopian for mosty of humanity
- By Phil on 09-29-20
By: James Dale Davidson, and others
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The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
- By: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
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Few forests, but lots of trees
- By Steve Pagano on 10-05-15
By: Francis Fukuyama
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Equal Is Unfair
- America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality
- By: Don Watkins, Yaron Brook
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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We've all heard that the American Dream is vanishing, and that the cause is rising income inequality. The rich are getting richer by rigging the system in their favor, leaving the rest of us to struggle just to keep our heads above water. To save the American Dream, we're told that we need to fight inequality through tax hikes, wealth redistribution schemes, and a far higher minimum wage.
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While I agree with most of this book,...
- By Wayne on 12-30-16
By: Don Watkins, and others
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good but a dense read
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Hard Pill To Swallow - I’m better for it
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A paradigm shift on the subject of equality
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These wide-ranging essays - on many individual political, economic, cultural, and legal issues - have as a recurring, underlying theme the decline of the values and institutions that have sustained and advanced American society for more than two centuries. This decline has been more than erosion. It has, in many cases, been a deliberate dismantling of American values and institutions by people convinced that their superior wisdom and virtue must override both the traditions of the country and the will of the people.
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Nice Collection of Essays
- By Laura on 09-01-11
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Ever Wonder Why?
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Thomas Sowell takes aim at a range of legal, social, racial, educational, and economic issues in this latest collection of his controversial, never boring, always thought-provoking essays. From "gun control myths" to "mealy mouth media" to "free lunch medicine," Sowell gets to the heart of the matters we all care about with his characteristically unsparing candor.
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He does it again.
- By David H on 09-28-23
By: Thomas Sowell
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Barbarians Inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays
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Most commentators look at the issue of immigration from the viewpoint of immediate politics. In doing so, they focus on only a piece of the issue and lose touch with the larger picture. Now Thomas Sowell offers a sweeping historical and global look at a large number of migrations over a long period of time. Migrations and Cultures shows the persistence of cultural traits in particular racial and ethnic groups.
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good but a dense read
- By Hi5Me on 03-27-18
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Discrimination and Disparities
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Hard Pill To Swallow - I’m better for it
- By Charles on 01-14-19
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Wealth, Poverty, and Politics
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- By Steven Schardein on 10-02-15
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Nice Collection of Essays
- By Laura on 09-01-11
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Thomas Sowell takes aim at a range of legal, social, racial, educational, and economic issues in this latest collection of his controversial, never boring, always thought-provoking essays. From "gun control myths" to "mealy mouth media" to "free lunch medicine," Sowell gets to the heart of the matters we all care about with his characteristically unsparing candor.
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He does it again.
- By David H on 09-28-23
By: Thomas Sowell
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The Thomas Sowell Reader
- By: Thomas Sowell
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- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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These selections from the many writings of Thomas Sowell over a period of half a century cover social, economic, cultural, legal, educational, and political issues. The sources range from Dr. Sowell’s letters, books, newspaper columns, and articles in both scholarly journals and popular magazines. The topics range from latetalking children to tax cuts for the rich, baseball, race, war, the role of judges, medical care, and the rhetoric of politicians.
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The Best Book By The Smartest Guy in the Room
- By Dave on 10-20-11
By: Thomas Sowell
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Intellectuals and Society
- By: Thomas Sowell
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This is a study of how intellectuals as a class affect modern societies by shaping the climate of opinion in which official policies develop, on issues ranging from economics to law to war and peace. You will hear a withering and clear-eyed critique about (but not for) intellectuals that explores their impact on public opinion, policy, and society at large.
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Biased but good
- By Justin on 05-06-10
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Race and Culture
- A World View
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Thomas Sowell is one of America’s leading voices on matters of race and ethnicity. In his book, Inside American Education, he surveyed the ills of American education from the primary grades to graduate school with “an impressive range of knowledge and acuity of observation”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Now, in his book Race and Culture, he asks the question: “What is it that allows certain groups to get ahead?” and the answer will undoubtedly create debates for years to come.
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Thomas Sowell is rare breed of public intellectual
- By PAUL on 09-03-12
By: Thomas Sowell
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Intellectuals and Race
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Intellectuals and Race is a radical book in the original sense - one that goes to the root of the problem. The role of intellectuals in racial strife is explored in an international context that puts the American experience in a wholly new light. The book explores the incentives, the visions, and the rationales that drive intellectuals at the highest levels to conclusions that have often turned out to be counterproductive and even disastrous, not only for particular racial or ethnic groups but for societies as a whole.
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A Satisfying Indictment of the Intelligentsia
- By Andrew on 12-27-16
By: Thomas Sowell
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A Conflict of Visions
- Ideological Origins of Political Struggles
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In this book, which the author calls a "culmination of 30 years of work in the history of ideas", Sowell attempts to explain the ideological difference between liberals and conservatives as a disagreement over the moral potential inherent in nature. Those who see that potential as limited prefer to constrain governmental authority, he argues. They feel that reform is difficult and often dangerous, and put their faith in family, custom, law, and traditional institutions.
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Critical read for 2008 change election
- By Elaine C Grimes on 06-05-08
By: Thomas Sowell
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Applied Economics
- Thinking Beyond Stage One: Second Edition
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Bill Wallace
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Applied Economics is an accessible guide to how our economic decisions develop. It explains the application of economics to major world problems, including housing, medical care, discrimination, and the economic development of nations. The book is based on an international view of economics, includes examples from around the world, and shows how certain incentives and constraints produce similar outcomes among disparate peoples and cultures.
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Look at the long term...it's important!
- By Eunice on 07-20-09
By: Thomas Sowell
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Basic Economics, Fifth Edition
- A Common Sense Guide to the Economy
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 28 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fifth edition of Basic Economics, Thomas Sowell revises and updates his popular book on commonsense economics, bringing the world into clearer focus through a basic understanding of the fundamental economic principles and how they explain our lives. Drawing on lively examples from around the world and from centuries of history, Sowell explains basic economic principles for the general public in plain English.
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The book is great the narrators voice is distracting
- By Eve on 07-28-24
By: Thomas Sowell
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Economic Facts and Fallacies
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Economic Facts and Fallacies is designed for people who want to understand economic issues without getting bogged down in economic jargon, graphs, or political rhetoric. Writing in a lively manner that does not require any prior knowledge of economics, Thomas Sowell exposes some of the most popular fallacies about economic issues, including many that are widely disseminated in the media and by politicians.
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Good with salt...
- By Michael on 05-08-08
By: Thomas Sowell
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Inside American Education
- The Decline, The Deception, The Dogmas
- By: Thomas Sowell
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Performance
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An indictment of the American educational system criticizes the fact that the system has discarded the traditional goals of transmitting knowledge and fostering cognitive skills in favor of building self-esteem and promoting social harmony.
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Must read if you want to understand the condition in America
- By Aaron on 12-21-21
By: Thomas Sowell
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Controversial Essays
- By: Thomas Sowell
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One of conservatism's most articulate voices dissects today's most important economic, racial, political, education, legal, and social issues, sharing his entertaining and thought-provoking insights on a wide range of contentious subjects.
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The Divine Logic
- By Yi Mon on 07-27-23
By: Thomas Sowell
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The Vision of the Anointed
- Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy
- By: Thomas Sowell
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- Unabridged
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The Vision of the Anointed is a devastating critique of the mindset behind the failed social policies of the past thirty years. Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes, but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and other social pathology. In this book, "politically correct" theory is repeatedly confronted with facts-and sharp contradictions between the two are explained in terms of a whole set of self-congratulatory assumptions held by political and intellectual elites.
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An Absolute Masterpiece!
- By Brendan Martino on 04-04-22
By: Thomas Sowell
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Black Rednecks and White Liberals
- By: Thomas Sowell
- Narrated by: Hugh Mann
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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This explosive new audiobook challenges many of the long-held assumptions about blacks, about Jews, about Germans and Nazis, about slavery, and about education. Plainly written, powerfully reasoned, and backed with a startling array of documented facts, Black Rednecks and White Liberals takes on the trendy intellectuals of our times as well as historic interpreters of American life.
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Great Book, Somewhat Misleading Title
- By ComputerBastard on 05-15-09
By: Thomas Sowell
What listeners say about Knowledge and Decisions
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- Steve Drowlette
- 07-13-18
Awesome
One of the best books I've ever read. If you're a liberty loving individual, this book puts a lot of our government structure into perspective and really breaks down all thats wrong with it. Absolutely loved it.
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- David R.
- 10-30-18
How the Political Class Evolved in America
This is a classic that, sadly, is timeless. It would have been nice to look back on this book’s writings as no longer relevant but this is not the case. This book is still essential reading as the ideas observations and conclusions are as true today as they were when written.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-20-19
Love Thomas Sowell. Very informative !
Packed full of good information! A little on the monotone side. Still great work though.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kevin M. Dougherty
- 04-08-21
Great Insight!
Sowell is a great intellectual mind! Full of Deep Knowledge. I am excited to read the next book!
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- AndriiShyshkalov
- 01-08-15
Read at least first half
The most important and foundational of Sowell's book. The first part is superb, while the second is boring at times. I enjoyed second part too because it is 30 years old and gives contemporary account, which is different than reading history books now.
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4 people found this helpful
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- David P. Wingert
- 06-08-23
Outstanding! Required reading for all!!
Outstanding! Required reading for all!!
I recommend that everyone who wishes to develop a better understanding of what we know—and how we decide—should read this book.
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- Jim Devine
- 11-21-22
Terrific book.
Another empirical data driven masterpiece. Love the subject matter, the author, the way the information is delivered (in a no nonsense manner), and the narrator.
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- Katie
- 06-17-24
A good book, but harder to understand than his other works
A good book, I think I would have to sit again to get most of it. However, it also seemed more dry than basic economics.
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- C. Verrilli
- 10-12-24
Part 2 made it worthwhile for me
As a non-economist, part one was a bit difficult to get through. Here he applies economic principles to social processes. Part two where he applied those principles to current trends in economics, law and politics was much more relatable and therefore more interesting for me.
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- Di
- 10-15-12
A must-read master piece
If you could sum up Knowledge and Decisions in three words, what would they be?
Best best and best
What was one of the most memorable moments of Knowledge and Decisions?
Every moment
What does Robertson Dean bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
A good narrative
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
from cover to cover
Any additional comments?
I just love Thomas sowell, and this book!
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3 people found this helpful