A Conflict of Visions
1987
Summary
Sowell's landmark 1987 work arguing that the deepest divide in political and social thought is not between left and right, but between two fundamentally different visions of human nature. The constrained vision sees human nature as fixed and flawed, requiring institutions, incentives, and tradeoffs to channel self-interest toward social good. The unconstrained vision sees human nature as malleable and perfectible, enabling enlightened individuals to design solutions to social problems directly. These two visions, Sowell argues, generate opposing positions across centuries and across issues from criminal justice to economics to foreign policy.