Farewell, Sowell Brother

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

The semi-retirement of one of my favorite columnists brought back memories of my last intellectual upheaval.

Economist Thomas Sowell's life story would be rejected even by Hollywood as being too far-fetched. Born into poverty in 1930 in the Jim Crow South to a single black mother who soon died (his father had died before his birth), Sowell later became a tenured economics professor, adviser to US presidents offering him cabinet posts, and a long-time Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He never received a high school diploma, but earned degrees in economics from Harvard University (BA at age 28 in 1958, before the affirmative action era), Columbia University (MA, 1959), and the University of Chicago (PhD, 1969).

Sowell (pronounced "soul") didn't publish his first book until he was 42 years old in 1972. He has been writing with pens in both hands since then, publishing about 40 books on social, political and economic issues. A Marxist during his academic years, even when he studied under Milton Friedman and George Stigler, he later became a fearless defender of capitalism. Despite his distinguished career, black activists and intellectuals have long dismissed him as a sellout working against black people. That's what I thought of him when I was a college student.

My transformation began when I attended a discussion hosted by the Objectivist Club at Harvard with the provocative title: "Do Minorities Deserve Special Rights?" The angels but not logic were on our side as we lost the argument. My allies dismissed those Ayn Rand followers as racists, but I disagreed. "Insensitive, yes. But racist?" I said, correctly predicting: "I bet they give white people the same treatment."

Friends and family probably worried about my sanity when I helped form "Sowell Brothers." I had zigzagged from Republican, Democrat, progressive, liberal, socialist, Objectivist to libertarian. My label now? "I'm an extremist, and extremely proud of it," to steal a line from Sowell's long-time colleague Walter E. Williams (who has his own incredible story).

I could no longer read the newspaper or see government the same way after encountering Sowell and Williams. "The State Against Blacks," published by Williams in the 1980s, demonstrated how government programs and regulations harmed blacks.

I began identifying decision-making processes rather than good intentions or "hoped-for results." Advocates and politicians advocate for more programs using lofty language—equality, social justice, fairness—without referring to the complex decision-making processes, feedback mechanisms from individuals, outcomes from incentives created, inevitable trade-offs, or constraints placed on people to reach desired hoped-for results.

Second, about government policy, I began asking: "Compared to what?" "And then what?" "What are the alternatives?"Politicians looking ahead to elections live in Stage 1 (the ribbon-cutting ceremony or proclamation), but Stage 2 is when businesses or taxpayers evade mandates. US President Trump is pressuring American businesses to stay in the USA, but companies will eventually pay attention to their bottom lines, regardless of Trump's threats.

It is popular during emergencies to punish price gouging for ice or water, but what comes after Stage 1? Lower prices, yes, but also less ice and water as would-be gougers stay home watching the news rather than driving all night delivering needed items. Raise taxes or the minimum wage, then eventually even fairness advocates start hiding their money or firing workers.

A connected question: "Who decides?" Instead of good intentions, I check: are decisions being made by 3rd party experts who suffer no consequences for mistakes or by individuals who will? As Sowell wrote in his 1980 book Knowledge and Decisions: "The most fundamental question is not what decision, but who is to make it." The importance of individual autonomy is a guiding principle of the project I co-founded helping North Korean refugees adjust to life in South Korea and the school choice program for low-income youngsters in Washington, D.C., that I helped establish in 2004.

At last, I met Sowell and Williams. Sowell laughed heartily when I informed him that I was one of those energetic Sowell Brothers who had repeatedly asked him to speak at Harvard. (He politely said no, explaining that he hadn't returned to Harvard since graduating, that he even skipped his graduation in 1958, instructing Harvard to mail his diploma). Williams interviewed me on the Rush Limbaugh Show, was a regular guest on my radio show, and always welcomed me at his office at George Mason University.

A friend recently sent me a Website ranking of "Notable Black Libertarians." She marveled that I was number five on the list, above both Sowell and Williams. Depending upon their ideology, other friends were dismayed or delighted to see me listed.

How could I be ranked above the original Sowell Brothers? Even I doubted that "hoped-for result." After basking in praise, I quietly informed friends (months later): The list is in alphabetical order.

Casey Lartigue Jr. is the co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) in Seoul. He can be reached at CJL@post.harvard.edu.