Thomas Sowell on facts

The most fundamental fact about the ideas of the political left is that they do not work. Therefore we should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.

I have always been offended by the song that says, ‘Everything is beautiful in its own way.’ If everything is beautiful, then the word ‘beautiful’ has no meaning. If everything were purple, there would be no word ‘purple’ in the language because it would not distinguish one thing from another.

Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good.

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan1927–2003Often credited to Unattributed

The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.1841–1935

• Education

If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.