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Nothing could be more jolting and discordant with the vision of today's intellectuals than the fact that it was businessmen, devout religious leaders and Western imperialists who together destroyed slavery around the world. And if it doesn't fit their vision, it is the same to them as if it never happened.
Thomas Sowell
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the unexpected alliances that contributed to the abolition of slavery, contrasting it with contemporary ideological narratives.

Thomas Sowell's quote challenges prevailing narratives among modern intellectuals by pointing out that it was a combination of businessmen, religious leaders, and imperialists who played crucial roles in ending slavery globally. This observation critiques how historical events are often interpreted through the lens of present-day ideologies, suggesting that inconvenient truths are frequently disregarded if they do not fit the current understanding of morality and progress.

Themes

SlaveryAbolitionBusinessReligionHistoryIntellectualismNarrative

In practice

Example use cases

During a panel discussion on the history of social justice, this quote can be used to provoke thought about the complexities of abolition.

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Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
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