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Interesting article examining Thomas Sowell's work in A Conflict of Visions.
Partial summary:
According to Sowell, "visions" are the foundations on which theories are built. A "vision" is a predisposition to see the human condition in a particular way. It cannot be proven or disproven. It is more like a hunch or a “gut feeling” than it is like an exercise in logic or factual verification.
An unconstrained vision suggests a world in which all problems can be solved. By contrast, a constrained vision deals in trade-offs rather than solutions. The constrained vision posits a world in which some human conflict is inevitable, and the best that one can hope for is a resolution that is peaceful and not too grossly unfair.
The article's author suggests a better way to look at it is cultural vs. elite knowledge, or if you favor or have an instinct for one of these, it will lead you to the corresponding "vision."
Liberals favor elite knowledge and tend to have unconstrained visions. Conservatives favor cultural knowledge and tend to have constrained visions.
Thomas Sowell, Political Conflict, and Madmen in Authority - Econlib
The role of rationally articulated ideas may be quite modest in its effect on a given election, a legislative vote, or an action of a head of state. Yet the atmosphere in which such decisions take place may be dominated by a particular vision—or by a particular conflict of visions. Where...
www.econlib.org
Partial summary:
According to Sowell, "visions" are the foundations on which theories are built. A "vision" is a predisposition to see the human condition in a particular way. It cannot be proven or disproven. It is more like a hunch or a “gut feeling” than it is like an exercise in logic or factual verification.
An unconstrained vision suggests a world in which all problems can be solved. By contrast, a constrained vision deals in trade-offs rather than solutions. The constrained vision posits a world in which some human conflict is inevitable, and the best that one can hope for is a resolution that is peaceful and not too grossly unfair.
The article's author suggests a better way to look at it is cultural vs. elite knowledge, or if you favor or have an instinct for one of these, it will lead you to the corresponding "vision."
Liberals favor elite knowledge and tend to have unconstrained visions. Conservatives favor cultural knowledge and tend to have constrained visions.