The Quest for Cosmic Justice
by Thomas Sowell · first published 1999
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that cosmic justice, an ideal of perfect fairness in outcomes, is unattainable, and contrasts it with the more modest, achievable human justice; recommended for readers questioning utopian policy thinking.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"This book is about the great moral issues underlying many of the headline-making political controversies of our times. It is not a comforting book but a book about disturbing and dangerous trends. The Quest for Cosmic Justice shows how confused conceptions of justice end up promoting injustice, how confused conceptions of equality end up promoting inequality, and how the tyranny of social visions prevents many people from confronting the actual consequences of their own beliefs and policies. Those consequences include the steady and dangerous erosion of fundamental principles of freedom - am
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The Quest for Cosmic Justice is another great book by Sowell that challenges the utopian mindset that underlies many modern policy discussions. It contrasts utopian "cosmic" justice with the much more prosaic (but achievable) "human"…
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗If you've not seen it, Thomas Sowell incisively comments on the wish for the impossible in The Quest for Cosmic Justice. There's a full book, but the original speech gives the main point: https://www.tsowell.com/spquestc.html Definitely worth a look, even if you don't think it applies here.
on “We ran the numbers, and there really is a pipeline problem in engineering hiring” ↗…this universe is normally distributed. > Are you asserting that history has been just? Think hard before you answer this one. What is "just"? Think hard before you answer that one. Actually, read "The Quest for Cosmic Justice" and the "Intellectuals and Society" by Sowell. You'll find that the social justice version of justice is vastly different from what people have historically thought of as justice. It is also, in my estimation,…
on “What “diversity and inclusion” means at Microsoft” ↗Anyone who actually thinks this is a good idea should read Thomas Sowell's The Quest for Cosmic Justice (http://www.amazon.com/Quest-Cosmic-Justice-Thomas-Sowell/dp/...), and everything else Sowell wrote, and Hayek and von Mises, and Friedman and all the other economists who've long since debunked this…
on “Swiss salary cap fails at ballot box” ↗Thomas Sowell is unequivocally a brilliant man. I’ve read several of his books, including “The Quest for Cosmic Justice”. His writings will definitely change/influence one’s world view. I can’t recommend him enough.
on “Equity: The Thief of Human Potential” ↗T. Sowell: The Quest for Cosmic Justice can be summarized in three propositions which may seem to be axiomatic, but whose implications are in fact politically controversial: 1. The impossible is not going to be achieved. 2. It is a waste…
on “Germany debates how to form gender-neutral words out of its gendered language” ↗