Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
If facts, logic, and scientific procedures are all just arbitrarily "socially constructed" notions, then all that is left is consensus--more specifically peer consensus, the kind of consensus that matters to adolescents or to many among the intelligentsia.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that if objective truths are viewed as merely social constructs, then only collective agreement remains, particularly among influential groups.
In this quote, Thomas Sowell critiques the idea that facts and scientific methods are socially constructed, arguing that if they are deemed arbitrary, the only recourse is to rely on consensus, which can be problematic. He emphasizes that such consensus, especially among peers or intellectual circles, may not reflect objective truth but rather social or cultural agreements that can be influenced by the prevailing attitudes and beliefs of the time.
Themes
FactsLogicConsensusTruthSocial Constructs
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on the role of science in society, this quote can illustrate the danger of disregarding objective facts.
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