The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy

This book thoroughly exposes the (generally leftwing) pseudo-intellectualism that has dominated so many institutions and power centers in the world, particularly in the west, with special focus on the United States. The book accomplishes this in a fairly concise manner of 9 easy to read, well written and well reasoned chapters supported by a moderate-or-higher amount of examples and historical cases demonstrating various points. Ultimately the book demonstrates in stunning clarity that American society has more and more come to be dominated by what are like modern day sophists. This class of people, whom Sowell names "the anointed" in sarcastic reference to their own inflated egos and views of themselves, is one which is expertly skilled in rhetoric and highly articulate. A fundamental flaw in society/human nature is that large swaths of the public are unable to see through the charade that is the verbal cunning of the anointed because they equate verbal skills/articulate speech with high intelligence and virtue. Or they cannot tell the difference between those who are smart and those who appear or sound smart, those who are virtuous and those who appear or sound virtuous, those who want and pursue what's best for society and those who claim to do so, and so on. And so the anointed are able to achieve huge success in their ambitions through clever manipulation and exploitation of the large swath of society which is gullible and easily manipulated, especially emotionally. Yet virtually whenever the anointed exercise power, they leave a trail of destruction in their wake. But they never examine themselves, their presuppositions, the ultimate effects of their policies, etc. They always find other things to blame, they redouble their commitments, they redefine terms and abuse language, they rewrite history, they slander and demonize their opponents, they silence opposition and debate, they hide or dismiss contrary evidence, and so on. This book is a walk through all of that, how the anointed tend to think, how they tend to operate, how their various misguided crusades and misadventures come to be, their strategy and tactics for achieving their goals and dealing with their opponents, the gargantuan gaps in their thinking and in their overall processes which serves to insulate them from evidence and from reality itself really, and the disastrous results that they have tended to achieve (and ignore).

WOW - this book has been put on my "to read again shelf" - If this is any indication there are only 5 other books there and I read about 100 books a year. Terms such as superlative and magnum opus easily come to mind. First of all this book is cerebral - the writing is clear and plain but requires thought on almost every page. Therefore, most of those who need it most will not be able to wade through it because to do so would force you to think. Thomas Sowell has dived deep into the muddy waters of the thought patterns of the left (vision of the anointed) and the right (tragic vision). He wants to understand the true motives of the left not just the results of their actions. I will not insult you any further with my word since they will only subtract from this awe-inspiring book. Instead enjoy a few words from the tome itself. "The focus here will be on one particular vision - the vision prevailing among the intellectual and political elite of our time. What is important about that vision are not only its particular assumptions and their corollaries, but also the fact that it is a prevailing vision - which means that its assumptions are so much taken for granted by so many people, including so-called "thinking people," that neither those assumptions nor their corollaries are generally confronted with demands for empirical evidence. Indeed, empirical evidence itself may be viewed as suspect, insofar as it is inconsistent with that vision." "(T)he vision of the anointed is not simply a vision of the world and its functioning in a causal sense, but is also a vision of themselves and the moral role in the world. It is a vision of differential rectitude. It is not a vision of the tragedy of the human condition: Problems exist because others are not as wise or as virtuous of the anointed." "Factual evidence and logical arguments are often not merely lacking but ignored in many discussions by those with the vision of the anointed. Much that is said by the anointed in the outward form of an argument turns out not to arguments at all. Often the logical structure of an argument is replaced by preemptive rhetoric or, where an argument is made, its validity remains unchecked against any evidence, even when such evidence is abundant. Evidence is often particularly abundant when it comes to statements about history, yet the anointed have repeatedly been as demonstrably wrong about the past as about the present or the future - and as supremely confident." "Those with the vision of the anointed are particularly prone to think of their own philosophy as new, and therefore as adapted to contemporary society, but their framework of assumptions goes back at least two centuries - as does the framework of those with the tragic vision." "But one of the crucial differences between those with the tragic vision and those with the vision of the anointed is in what they respectively assume that we know how to do. Those with the vision of the anointed are seldom deterred by any question as to whether anyone has the knowledge required to do what they attempting." "The hallmark of the vision of the anointed is that what the anointed consider lacking for the kind of social progress they envision is will and power, not knowledge. But to those with the tragic vision, what is dangerous are will and power without knowledge - and for many expansive purposes, knowledge is inherently insufficient. In their hast to be wiser and nobler than others, the anointed have misconceived two basic issues. They seem to assume (1) that they have more knowledge than the average member of the benighted and (2) that this is the relevant comparison. The real comparison, however, is not between the knowledge possessed by the average member of the educated elite versus the average member of the general public, but rather the TOTAL direct knowledge brought to bear through social processes (the competition of the marketplace, social sorting, etc.), involving millions of people, versus the secondhand knowledge of generalities possessed by a smaller elite group. Moreover, the existing generation's traditions and values distill the experiences of other millions in times past. Yet the anointed seem to conceive the issue as one of the syllogistic reasoning of the past versus the syllogistic reasoning of the present, preferring to believe that improvements in knowledge and reason permit the former to be dismissed." "What is seldom part of the vision of the anointed is a concept of ordinary people as autonomous decision makers free to reject any vision and to seek their own well-being through whatever social processes they choose. Thus, when those with the prevailing vision speak of the family - if only to defuse their adversaries' emphasis on family values - they tend to conceive of the family as a RECIPENT institution for government largess or guidance, rather than as DECISION-MAKING institution determining for itself how children shall be raised and with what values." "The anointed do no simply HAPPEN to have a disdain for the public, Such disdain is an integral part of their vision, for the central feature of that vision is preemption of the decisions of others." "Perhaps the most fundamental difference between those with the tragic vision and those with vision of the anointed is that the former see policy-making in terms of trade-offs and the latter in terms of `solutions'." "The point here is not simply that some people were mistaken in their beliefs and hopes for this particular program, but that they barricaded themselves against all beliefs to the contrary and morally condemned those who express such beliefs. It is this pattern which has been all too characteristic of the anointed, on this and other issues, over a very long span of time." I hope this woefully small smattering of quotes has helped enlighten you about this great book.

This brilliant book was published in 1995, around the time when the Clinton administration had suffered a big loss in Congress. And after Clinton came George W. Bush, so for thirteen years America was not suffering TOO badly from "the vision of the anointed." But 2008 rolled around, and so did Barack Obama and his administration, and suddenly this book came into its own. The "Vision Of The Anointed" was suddenly in the driver's seat --- in Washington and in the media, and The Anointed had nothing but scorn for the unwashed, knuckle-draggin', Bible-clinging and gun-clinging troglodytes who saw reality more clearly than the anointed did. Suddenly, in the new post-racial environment, everyone was hurling the term "racist" at almost everyone. And, most amazingly, the anointed simply ceased to care about letting the unwashed feel their undiluted scorn. Congressional leaders openly referred to average Americans, peacably assembled in political protests, in shocking terms: "mobs," "evil-doers," "teabaggers" (an obscene reference) were among the most memorable. And when video exposes threatened the huge empire of community organizers known as ACORN (with 200 other names), a number of leftists chose to go to the defense of ACORN --- to go to the defense of people willingly involved in tax fraud, housing fraud, prostitution, underage prostitution, and sexual trafficking of minors! I recommend the review from "Publisher's Weekly" for an example of The Sneer Of The Anointed. In this book, Sowell offers a template for leftist failure. First, there is a "CRISIS" discovered. Then the leftist (Statist) "solution" is proposed. Dismal, knuckle-dragging troglodytes object that this solution will produce Unintended Consequence "Z." They are ignored by The Anointed, and the "solution" is put into effect. Ten years later, there is nothing but "Z" on view. So what? The Anointed simply decide it's time to "move on." Sowell offers three illustrations of this template. The first is LBJ's War On Poverty, which was designed to get people off the welfare rolls. The Anointed admitted that the solution would be expensive, in the early years, but in the end, fewer people would be dependent on the government. The knuckle-dragging troglodytes objected that welfare dependency would increase. The program went through, over their objections, and ten years later the number of Americans receiving welfare had doubled. Nothing but "Z" was on view. The second example is sex education, where the goal was a reduction in teenage pregnancy, VD, etc. Ten years later, the rate of these problems had soared. Nothing but "Z" was on view. More than that, The Anointed were beginning to insist on sex education in every year K-12. What?! The birds and the bees can be explained coherently in less than an hour, but The Anointed had no intent of doing just that. They wanted to change the thinking of an entire generation --- and for that, twelve years of propaganda would do nicely. The third example is the Warren Court and their friends revolution in the treatment of criminals. Focusing on prevention and rehabilitation, ten years later crime rates around the nation had soared. Nothing but "Z" ws on view. Once again, The Anointed simply decided to "Move On," and let someone else clean up their mess. This year, we have new things labelled a "CRISIS." The doubtful thing called "global warming," or "climate change" has suddenly become a crisis, and so has something as everyday as going to the doctor. How this will play out remains to be seen, but every thinking American needs to take a look at this stunningly prescient book.

Tom Sowell writes several kinds of books: magisterial textbooks such as BASIC ECONOMICS, collections of journalistic pieces like IS REALITY OPTIONAL? and single-themed studies such as THE VISION OF THE ANOINTED. The latter contrasts the liberal vision (that of the self-anointed) with what he terms the tragic vision. The first vision is theoretical, unencumbered by altercations with recalcitrant reality and anchored in the clouds rather than in the collective experience of the masses of the world. It is the vision of self-appointed elites who feel that their expertise should supersede the accumulated wisdom of those who they consider rubes. I have always loved a Sowell analogy that is comparable to Milton Friedman’s discussion of the knowledge and skill that is required to make a simple #2 pencil. Consider a socialist country that considers its engineers/activists superior in intellect to those it seeks to rule. It wants to reconstitute the economy by removing it from the hands of the bourgeoisie and placing it in the hands of experts. First task: creating hardware stores. A hardware store consists of thousands upon thousands of items made in different skews and carried in different numbers. How many boxes of 16-penny finishing nails should the store carry vs. the number of boxes of roofing nails vs. the number of screw nails in different sizes? Successful hardware store operators know these things, because they interact with thousands of people with specific needs. A state apparatchik knows none of this and will doubtless make decisions that quickly result in unnecessary surpluses and unnecessary shortages. This, however, makes no difference to the anointed. They are never prepared to subject their theories to empirical tests because they believe that they are always smarter than the rest of us, so that even if they have to break a lot of our eggs to make their omelettes those omelettes will be a thing of beauty and a joy forever when we reach their utopia. When you add their virtue-signaling ‘moral’ imperatives to this mix you see quickly how we have found ourselves in our current condition in 2025 (the book was published in 1995). I particularly like the ways in which TS traces the anointed’s etiology to the thought of certain figures of the Enlightenment, though I would probably emphasize Rousseau more than, e.g., Condorcet. I would also change the labeling. (Borrowing from Don Greene’s comments on the conservatism of the English Enlightenment), I would call the conservative view (the world of limited resources in which choices are based on trade-offs rather than on fever dreams) an ‘Augustinian’ view. Our world is not so much ‘tragic’ as it is ‘fallen’, though there is tragedy in original sin. Bottom line: a wonderful, incisive, definitive book, one that explains a great deal of our current condition and (in a fairer world) the kind of book that should be the universal read for an incoming college class. Five stars.

I wish I would have read Thomas Sowell's work sooner. I've seen & heard him on podcasts and occasional news programs but to read this book allows for savoring his excellent use of the English language & his vast knowledge of the working of the minds of us complex creatures. It reads a bit like a science textbook but without the boredom, or fear of failing a class. I admit to reading many paragraphs repeatedly. Economics & politics are not subjects with which I have much familiarity but I think I will become more knowledgeable, since I plan to work my way through his collection. Thank you, Thomas Sowell, for such refreshing, sensible, grown-up writing!

I have read Dr. Sowell's "Economic Facts and Fallacies" and I was greatly impressed with not only his erudite and clear writing, but also with the profoundness of his thinking. However, I bought "Vision of the Anointed" because it comes as highly recommended reading in most conservative/libertarian circles. Having read this book, I think that it is an instant classic and by far one of the most important conservative books ever written. Dr. Sowell's thesis is that there are self-anointed people--liberals--who believe that it is their mission to run people's lives because they feel they know more about what is good for people than people know what is good for themselves. He further argues that they promote self-congratulatory social policies that are impervious to any objective scrutiny or critiques based on facts and logic, and are justified through sophistical language. As the title indicates, I believe that the two most important things that this book does is provide an insight into the way liberals think as well as expose and destroy the common methodology of liberal argumentation. The book begins with a rundown of the copious "problems" that liberals claim exist in society and that they want to fix. This always begins with a massive exaggeration of the initial problem, with whacky and manifestly unreasonable liberal solutions to that "problem," which then worsen the problem, which they claim without their intervention would have been much worse. This section is prophetic as one could easily plug in the current Obama administration's attempt to fix problems in our health care system. They overrate the problem by inflating the number of uninsured people, they propose destroying the entire system for every American in order to insure those few, and then when the results of their wrongheaded policies come to fruition, they'll blame it on the problem being so large even with intervention it couldn't completely stave it. The chapter I particularly enjoyed was "The Vocabulary of the Anointed," which exposes and demolishes the sophistical and tautological rhetoric that liberals invariably use to support their political arguments. This is a must-read classic. If a liberal were to read this book with an open mind, I am certain that they'll begin questioning their philosophy.

I consider my self a liberal, though perhaps only slightly left of center. I enjoyed this book…It was very “dense” reading…The author might have said as much with fewer words. One thing that struck me repeatedly is that “the anointed” term and its implications could in truth be applied at different times and in different situations to individuals/groups at either pole of our current political system…not only liberals/the left, but at other times to conservatives/the right. I think it’s important to consider that as you digest this text. A worthy read.

I just recently re-read Thomas Sowell's The Vision of the Annointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, and I highly recommend it. My own transition from liberal-moderate to conservative started in college, and was based in no small part in observing the leftism of many on campus, the difference between the old school liberals and the modern-day leftists, and the fact that the the change and "consciousness raising" was secondary, or completely immaterial, to their fundamental goal: the inflation of their egos and the patting of themselves on the back. Thus, when I saw the subtitle of Sowell's book, Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy, I knew I had to read it. I was not disappointed. It is as thoughtful and reasoned and insightful explanation of the difference between the liberal and conservative perspectives as I have ever come across. The definitions of the left, or liberal, viewpoint as "the vision of the annointed" and the right, or conservatives, as "the tragic vision"--explaining that the annointed see problems as solvable and humanity as perfectible and the tragic vision sees humanity as inherently and forever flawed (the Lord of the Flies perspective) and problems as situations that can be affected by trade-offs that focus on the best outcome, rather than a permanent and categorical solution (believing such solutions to be impossible). Thus, despite the clear failure of the War on Poverty, liberals may tout it as a great success (while lamenting all that "must still be done") because their ideological basis will not let them see negative outcomes as a natural result (i.e., trade-off) of the policies they instituted, because they intend only a positive, categorical solution, and the failures of the policy are instead characterized as new crisis inflicted from new or outside factors, or limitations on their policy imposed by their opponents, rather than a natural outcome of their policies. Sowell goes on to argue that since the tragic view of humanity is more accurate, the policies crafted within the tragic view--that problems aren't solved through categorical genius but incrementally ameliorated via incremental trade-offs. Anyway, it's a great book, and if you're interested in a great discussion on the differences between the left and right views, and their manifestations, The Vision of the Annointed is a must read.

This is my first Thomas Sowell book and it’s excellent. The book essentially analyses the tactics and lack of accountability from failed policies implemented by liberal/leftists. The use of language to squash opposing views and to achieve their goals, as well as their insufferable sanctimony in doing it. Vision of the anointed uses data to bolster Sowell’s points, and presents many examples of politicians throughout American politics who have used the aforementioned tactics to get what they want and pointed the finger elsewhere when it goes awry. The biggest shock? The book was written nearly thirty years ago and is just as relevant today, more so even, than it was in 1995. Subversion of language and a lack of interest for hard facts are the order of the day for the anointed as Sowell puts it, and these precepts are used religiously today. If you want a book with lucid, clear cut prose, look no further. This is excellent, well written stuff by a very shrewd commentator.

Thomas Sowell is so interesting. He uncovers the lies and strategies of the left with depth and insight that is difficult to imagine. Great book!

I've read this book after reading Sowells other book "Conflict of Visions". It didn't disappoint. This book tends to expand on much of Conflict of Visions by providing many concrete examples as well as expanded theory. If I were to recommend this book to someone who hadn't read any Sowell before, I would read Conflict of Visions first, then this book, then another of his works "Intellectuals and Society". I've read numerous other books from the author, but, these three consolidate much of his work from the others in both a theoretical and practical sense. If you ever read this Mr Sowell... Thank you...

A very clearly and reasoned examination. While written before the internet revolution, it clearly is salient to today's world and social drivers. A must read for the open-minded who are trying to make sense of the world.

Em"The Vision Of The Anointed; Self-Congratulation As A Basis For Social Policy", Thomas Sowell expõe, com maestria, o fenômeno da superioridade moral de pessoas com determinadas posições ideológicas. Para tanto, apresenta duas categorias muito importantes: a) os ungidos, pessoas que se percebem como moralmente superiores em razão de suas posições ideológicas atreladas à esquerda do espectro político. São membros da elite política e intelectual, cujo pensamento entranhou-se na mídia e na academia, de maneira que a maioria das pessoas sequer consideram que há outras formas de pensar; b) os sem luz, aqueles que discordam dos ungidos. Sowell destaca uma característica importante dos ungidos: suas ações não se baseiam na realidade concreta e sim nas suas intenções (ou melhor, na aparência de suas intenções). Como as ações dos ungidos carecem de evidências empíricas, eles utilizam duas táticas para obstruir o debate público: a) demonizar o oponente. ((...)aquilo que discorda com a visão predominante não é visto apenas como erro, mas como pecado." p.3); b) desenvolver um vocabulário próprio para esconder sua fragilidade argumentativa. Por essa razão, vemos o recorrente uso das mesmas palavras: crise, decolonizar, afrocentrado, eurocêntrico, supremacista, ocidental etc. O autor chama esse fenômeno de “inflação verbal”: "as ordinárias vicissitudes da vida transformam-se em traumas. Qualquer situação que eles desejam mudanças transforma-se em crise." (p.215) "Apesar da advertência de Hamlet contra o auto-enaltecimento, a visão dos ungidos não é simplesmente uma visão do mundo e do seu funcionamento num sentido casual. É também uma visão de si mesmos e do seu papel moral nesse mundo. É uma visão de uma retidão diferenciada. Não é uma visão da tragédia da condição humana: os problemas existem porque os outros não são tão sábios ou tão virtuosos quanto eles, os ungidos. " ( p.5) Livro recomendadíssimo!