Carolina QuotesIdeas are everywhere, but knowledge is rare.
Thomas Sowell Carolinian
Source
Ch. 1 : The Role of Knowledge
- work
- Knowledge and Decisions (1980; 1996)
- year
- 1980
Cite this record
“Ideas are everywhere, but knowledge is rare.” Thomas Sowell. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-371794A406. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/371794a406
More from Thomas Sowell
It is unnecessary to attempt any general rule as to where the overall balance lies in comparing the respective costs of knowledge in larger and smaller decision-making units. What is important is to understand that (1) the respective cost advantages of the large and small units differ according to the kind of knowledge involved (general versus specific), that (2) most decisions involve mixtures of the two kinds of knowledge, so that the net advantages of the larger and smaller units vary with the kind of decision, and (3) the effectiveness of hierarchical subordination varies with the extent to which the subordinate unit has knowledge advantages over the higher unit.
As far as party primaries are concerned, both Republican and Democratic Party primaries are dominated by the most zealous voters, whose views may not reflect the views of most members of their own respective parties, much less the views of those who are going to vote in the November general election. In recent times, each election year has seen each party's nominee selected - or at least subject to veto - by its most extreme wing and then forced to try to move back to the center before the general election. This can only undermine the public's confidence in the integrity of the candidates of both parties.
Understanding the limitations of human beings is the beginning of wisdom.