• The Vision of the Anointed

  • Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy
  • By: Thomas Sowell
  • Narrated by: Tom Weiner
  • Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (671 ratings)

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The Vision of the Anointed  By  cover art

The Vision of the Anointed

By: Thomas Sowell
Narrated by: Tom Weiner
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Publisher's summary

In this devastating critique of the mindset behind the failed social policies of the past 30 years, Thomas Sowell sees what has happened not as a series of isolated mistakes, but as a logical consequence of a vision whose defects have led to disasters in education, crime, family disintegration, and more. This is an empirical study in which “politically correct” theory is repeatedly confronted with facts, and the sharp contradictions between the two are explained in terms of a set of self-congratulatory assumptions held by political and intellectual elites.

These elites—the anointed—often consider themselves “thinking people,” but this thinking is actually rhetorical assertion, followed by evasions of mounting evidence against these assertions. The vision of the anointed is seen not merely as a failure but as a fatal danger to the values and the future of American society.

©1995 Thomas Sowell (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“An important and incisive book.” (New York Times Book Review)

“As compelling an explanation as any for the seemingly disproportionate amount of condescension and politically correct invective that emanates from the liberal side of the political spectrum toward the conservative opposition.” (Wall Street Journal)

“Avid conservatives, for whom Sowell is a true-blue intellectual force, will certainly seize upon his analysis for succor.” (Booklist)

What listeners say about The Vision of the Anointed

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One of the best books I've ever listened to...

A masterpiece. If you ever wondered how the other side could be so consistently wrong, read this book and understand.

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14 people found this helpful

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Listen to Thomas Sowell and your brain will grow

What made the experience of listening to The Vision of the Anointed the most enjoyable?

The organization and logic of his ideas, observations and principles make Thomas Sowell the greatest proponent of freedom alive today. Many think he speaks of economics but he reveals the threats to freedom by the elitist in our government and other institutions.

What other book might you compare The Vision of the Anointed to and why?

Intellectuals and Society, by Thomas Sowell

What does Tom Weiner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

great voice

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10 people found this helpful

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MUST READ!

This is the best book ever that explains the vision of the anointed class and the methods and vocabulary that they use to stymie their opponents without having to debate facts, or the consequences of their plans.
You must read/listen to this book!

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7 people found this helpful

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  • 01-09-11

Great Book - Terrible Production - Rapid Ugly Comp

The speaker is probably good. However the producers of this great book have compressed (speeded up the reading) to a very annoying, highly unnatural and way to rapid. It makes the reader seem frantic to finish it up. How could this have happened to an author like Sowell. Buy the book or wait for the audio redo.

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7 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars

Right wing authoritarian whines

I was drawn to the overall theme with which I agree. What I find in the text is a high degree of submission to established, legitimate authorities in the author's social group (right wing socialism), high levels of aggression on behalf of those authorities, and a high level of conventionalism. Thomas, please see Professor Altemeyer's book The Authoritarians. I guess I'll have to make due with Hayek's Road to Serfdom and Murray Rothbard's Great Depression. Sowell takes on too much to bore down into the details to understand how unfair and distorted his analysis is.

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Thomas Sowell is so Articulate!

Even though this book was written over 20 years ago, "The Vision of The Anointed" seems like it is out of today's headlines.

Sowell explains why the judicial system is such a mess, the crusades by the "anointed" and why the press is so biased and has their back. There has never been a better time to read this book. We continue to see our freedom of speach eroded, because the anointed understand the issues so much better than "we the people"!

It is time to wake up and abolish this nonsense once and for all! If you think that what is happening in our political arena today is new, well, think again. The anointed circus just brings in new clowns. But it is nothing to jest about. These are dangerous players with a dangerous agenda. They have been undermining our system of government for decades.

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Fantastic reading of a fantastic book.

Sowell so articulately describes the nigh-autocratic antics of the political and intellectual "elites". A must-read for, well, anyone, even if you consider yourself a member of said political elite. Sowell is meticulous in his attention to detail, and provides real-life, specific examples for his points, as well as metaphorical illustrations to provide a clearer view. He is unbiased and classy, and eloquently puts into words the struggle we face as opponents to the prevailing vision. Absolutely worth your time.

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Required Reading for Everyone

Although this book was published in 1995, every sentence within is applicable and relevant to 2016. had I not known what year this book was published, I would have guessed it was published last week.

This is a well thought out and welll written book. Sowell takes difficult subject matter, such as explaining judicial activism, and makes it understandable for even nonlawyers, making it an excellent primer for anyone interested in American politics. Quite honestly, this book should be required reading in every college political science course.

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Fabulous, Simply Fabulous

Sowell's contribution to the understanding of politics is one of (a) boiling down the arguments of both sides of policy debates to their essential elements and then (b) reconciling those arguments to actual, subsequent effects of established government policy; i.e., was an actual government policy successful in producing the ex ante claimed-for results?

Such an exercise is necessary if one is to learn from history and to make informed choices going forward. One of Sowell's most valuable insights is to illustrate throughout the book how there are no government policy "solutions" to any societal problem (such as, say, income inequality). He argues--and illustrates with many concrete examples--that there are only tradeoffs. Government policies always benefit some individuals, but impose net costs to others. The "anointed", who tend to propose expanded government policies generally ignore those tradeoffs, preferring to call their proposals "solutions". They either don't understand that tradeoffs exist or else they are demagogues. The "benighted" are those of society's individuals who incur the costs of such policies, while the "anointed" generally benefit by enhancing personal power.

Sowell's is a brilliant piece of well-documented analysis. Whether you agree with Sowell or not, if you care about politics, you should read this book. It will enhance the sophistication and accuracy of your thinking.

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classic thomas sowell

This might be the best introduction to Thomas Sowell's writings, a good place to start

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