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
Our whole educational system, from the elementary schools to the universities, is increasingly turning out people who have never heard enough conflicting arguments to develop the skills and discipline required to produce a coherent analysis, based on logic and evidence. The implications of having so many people so incapable of confronting opposing arguments with anything besides ad hominem responses reach far.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The educational system fails to prepare individuals to analyze conflicting arguments critically.
In this quote, Thomas Sowell emphasizes the shortcomings of the educational system in equipping students with the necessary skills to engage in logical analysis and confront differing viewpoints. He warns that a generation unable to thoughtfully evaluate arguments is ill-prepared for meaningful discourse, often resorting to personal attacks rather than rational debate, which poses significant societal dangers.
Themes
EducationAnalysisSkillsArgumentsLogicEvidence
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire educators to reflect on their teaching methods.
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One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
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You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
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The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
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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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