Knowledge and Decisions

Sowell, Thomas

ISBN 10: 0465037380 / ISBN 13: 9780465037384

Published by Basic Books / the Perseus Book Group, New York

About this Item

[9780465037384] 1996, reissue. (Mass market paperback) Very good. xxvi, 422pp. 8vo. First published in 1980, the reissue of this landmark work, with a new preface by Sowell, describes in concrete terms, how knowledge is shared and circulated throughtout society, and how that transmission impacts the decisions that are made. The preface and main text (to page 64) show some underling and marginalia (penned); that said, all text is clear and legible and else is fine. Overall, a very good copy.

Seller Inventory # 129376

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Knowledge and Decisions
• Publisher: Basic Books / the Perseus Book Group, New York
• ISBN 10: 0465037380
• ISBN 13: 9780465037384
• Binding: Soft cover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Reference

About this title

Synopsis

With a new preface by the author, this reissue of Thomas Sowell's classic study of decision making updates his seminal work in the context of The Vision of the Annointed, Sowell, one of America's most celebrated public intellectuals, describes in concrete detail how knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout modern society. He warns that society suffers from an ever-widening gap between firsthand knowledge and decision making—a gap that threatens not only our economic and political efficiency, but our very freedom because actual knowledge gets replaced by assumptions based on an abstract and elitist social vision f what ought to be.Knowledge and Decisions, a winner of the 1980 Law and Economics Center Prize, was heralded as a ”landmark work” and selected for this prize ”because of its cogent contribution to our understanding of the differences between the market process and the process of government.” In announcing the award, the center acclaimed Sowell, whose ”contribution to our understanding of the process of regulation alone would make the book important, but in reemphasizing the diversity and efficiency that the market makes possible, [his] work goes deeper and becomes even more significant.”

About the Author

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the author of dozens of books including Charter Schools and Their Enemies, winner of the 2021 Hayek Book Prize. He is the recipient of numerous other awards, including the National Humanities Medal, presented by the President of the United States in 2003.