[2018-05-03] Discrimination and Disparities with Thomas Sowell

Discrimination and Disparities with Thomas Sowell

Published on Thursday, May 3, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7hmTRT8tb4&t=827s

Hoover Institution

Recorded on Sunday, March 14, 2018

Rich or poor, most people agree that wealth disparities exist. Thomas Sowell discusses the origins and impacts of those wealth disparities in his new book, Discrimination, and Disparities in this episode of Uncommon Knowledge.

Sowell explains his issues with the relatively new legal standard of “disparate impact” and how it disregards the American legal principle of “burden of proof.” Sowell and Robinson discuss how economic outcomes vary greatly across individuals and groups and that concepts like “disparate impact” fail to take into account these variations.

They chat about the impact of nuclear families on the IQs of individuals, as studies have not only shown that children raised by two parents tend to have higher levels of intelligence but also that first-born and single children have even higher intelligence levels than those of younger siblings, indicating that the time and attention given by parents to their children greatly impacts the child’s future more than factors like race, environment, or genetics. Sowell talks about his book in which he wrote extensively about National Merit Scholarship finalists who more often than not were the first-born or only child in a family.

Sowell and Robinson go on to discuss historical instances of discrimination and how those instances affected economic and social issues within families, including discrimination created by housing laws in the Bay Area. They discuss unemployment rates, violence, the welfare state in regard to African American communities, and more.

Related Resources:

• Discrimination and Disparities https://www.hoover.org/research/discrimination-and-disparities

• Wealth, Poverty, and Politics
https://www.hoover.org/research/wealth-poverty-and-politics-1

• Thomas Sowell Brings the World into Focus through an Economic Lens
https://www.hoover.org/research/thomas-sowell-brings-world-focus-through-economics-lens

• Thomas Sowell discusses his newest book, Intellectuals, and Race
https://www.hoover.org/research/thomas-sowell-discusses-his-newest-book-intellectuals-and-race

• Thomas Sowell discusses his essay “‘Trickle Down’ Theory and ‘Tax Cuts for the Rich.’”
https://www.hoover.org/research/thomas-sowell-discusses-his-essay-trickle-down-theory-and-tax-cuts-rich

• Thomas Sowell on the second edition of Intellectuals and Society
https://www.hoover.org/research/thomas-sowell-discusses-his-essay-trickle-down-theory-and-tax-cuts-rich

For the full transcript go to
https://www.hoover.org/research/discrimination-and-disparities-thomas-sowell

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