A Conflict of Visions

Ideological Origins of Political Struggles

By: Thomas Sowell

Narrated by: Michael Edwards

In this book, which the author calls a "culmination of 30 years of work in the history of ideas," Sowell attempts to explain the ideological difference between liberals and conservatives as a disagreement over the moral potential inherent in nature. Those who see that potential as limited prefer to constrain governmental authority, he argues. They feel that reform is difficult and often dangerous, and put their faith in family, custom, law, and traditional institutions. Conversely, those who have faith in human nature prefer to remove institutional and traditional constraints. Controversies over such diverse issues as criminal justice, income distribution, or war and peace repeatedly show an ideological divide along the lines of these two conflicting visions.©1987 Thomas Sowell (P)1988 Classics on Tape

Critic reviews

"Extraordinary....[Sowell] makes his case fairly, lucidly, and persuasively." (New York Times)
"A provocative analysis of the conflicting visions of human nature that have shaped the moral, legal and economic life of recent times....His discussion of how these conflicting attitudes ultimately produce clashes over equality, social justice and other issues is instructive."(Publishers Weekly)
"The book builds a convincing case that ethical and policy disputes are ultimately based on the differences in these visions. It covers a wide variety of political, philosophical, and economic thought...[A]n important contribution to our understanding of current social issues." (Library Journal)

Thought provoking

Thomas Sowell's writings are always intelligent and thought provoking. His grasp of economics surpasses all other current authors on this topic, and his understanding of current society comes from his understanding of history and human nature. His books are never boring even when discussing economics.

That said, "A Conflict of Visions" isn't about right or left; just as there are big-government Democrats, there are big government Republicans. This book is about the constrained and unconstrained visions of how the world works.

Listen to it, and you may just gain some insights into yourself.

Very Insightful

I was surprised to find that this book was written in 1987. It remains so relevant that it might as well have been written yesterday. On a personal level, it helped me understand why family members who share most of the same values I do nevertheless diverge so far when it comes to political practicalities. I can see why Dr. Sowell regards it as one of the intellectual works he is most proud of.

Thomas Sowell's Favorite Book

if you're familiar with Tom's other books, and you enjoyed them, then it's hard to give a better reason to try this one than saying that Thomas Sowell himself, without hesitation, refers to this book as his personal favorite. The narrator is a bit dry sometimes, but the content itself is everything you've come to expect from Tom, and then some!

Very insightful as usual

Sowell is brilliant as always. This is a very insightful look at the subject. The book has helped me to take a more critical look of what motivates others and myself.

Deep Thoughts

Lots of deep thought philosophy of vision that took a bit to get on board

Excellent Read

Very good read. There were minor deviations away from the Revised Edition. Most notably in chapter 9.

Dr Sowell can compare and contrast like few others

Not an easy read but even someone with an undergrad level of familiarity with Economic theory and terms will draw many valuable insights about current political/economic tribes

Classic Sowell

While I found this book to be very informative, it was not a good choice for an audio book for running, but I will definitely get a hard copy in the future.

Bad narration

I’m glad this is available as an audiobook. However, the narration is not good. Some words are mispronounced changing their meaning.

Thought provoking

This is among the most thought-provoking book I have read (or rather heard this as an audiobook) of Thomas Sowell yet. He has provided a general philosophical framework in understanding the nature of political and ideological conflicts.

Very often we find the same set of people lie on the opposite side on issues, be it economic, legal, military, social issues, and numerous other unrelated issues. This according to Sowell isn't a mere coincidence, but because these groups are reasoning from fundamentally different premises and have different views on human nature. i.e They have different visions of how the world works.

He broadly classifies these visions into two namely, 'Constrained' and 'Unconstrained' vision. The constrained viewpoint believes human nature is inherently flawed and can never be perfect. Thus compromises in society must be made taking into account these human flaws(eg - free market). In the unconstrained viewpoint, you believe that humans are inherently good, and flaws are attributed to social conditioning (eg - Affirmative action). Thus believes, society has the potential to become perfect through constant restructuring. It's these conflicting viewpoints to various degree dictate so much of ideological battles.

Through Sowell's other work it's evident that he leans more to the 'Constrained' camp, but in this book, he explains the two visions from a neutral perspective and doesn't push his opinion.

Would strongly recommend this to anyone interested in politics and psychology. It can be a bit tedious to read, thus I would suggest the Audiobook version.