On the conceit of elite and the brilliant Thomas Sowell

From the always-insightful Thomas Sowell, some thoughts on the failings of elites and the wisdom of the masses:

If no one has even one percent of all the knowledge in a society, then it is crucial that the other 99 percent of knowledge -- scattered in tiny and individually unimpressive amounts among the population at large -- be allowed the freedom to be used in working out mutual accommodations among the people themselves.

These innumerable mutual interactions are what bring the other 99 percent of knowledge into play -- and generate new knowledge.

That is why free markets, judicial restraint, and reliance on decisions and traditions growing out of the experiences of the many -- rather than the groupthink of the elite few -- are so important.

Elites are all too prone to over-estimate the importance of the fact that they average more knowledge per person than the rest of the population -- and under-estimate the fact that their total knowledge is so much less than that of the rest of the population.

They over-estimate what can be known in advance in elite circles and under-estimate what is discovered in the process of mutual accommodations among millions of ordinary people.

Central planning, judicial activism, and the nanny state all presume vastly more knowledge than any elite have ever possessed.

The ignorance of people with Ph.D.s is still ignorance, the prejudices of educated elites are still prejudices, and for those with one percent of a society's knowledge to be dictating to those with the other 99 percent is still an absurdity.

The full article is worthwhile reading.

Aside: If you're not familiar with Thomas Sowell, you've missed out on one of the great analytical minds of our time, someone whose wide-ranging writings on race, economics, history, philosophy, and political science will still be studied centuries from now. He's written dozens of books (some have become standard university texts, others more for the public), is currently a Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and has received countless awards, including the National Humanities Medal. Whether one agrees with him on any given topic, any read of Sowell's writing always leaves the indelible impression of a brilliant analytical mind and a remarkable gift of clear expression.

For a sample of his popular writings, see this archive of his recent columns. For a list of some of his other works, see a list of his books and some of his most famous quips and quotes.