The Vision of the Anointed
1995
Summary
The 1995 sequel to *A Conflict of Visions*, focusing specifically on the unconstrained vision as held by a self-appointed intellectual elite — 'the anointed' — who view themselves as morally and intellectually superior to the general population. Sowell documents a recurring four-stage pattern in failed social policies: (1) a crisis is asserted, (2) a government solution is proposed, (3) the solution produces bad results, (4) the failure is attributed to insufficient commitment or external interference rather than to the policy itself. The book dissects how this vision insulates itself from empirical refutation and how it distorts public discourse on crime, education, and social policy.