This week on Uncommon Knowledge, Thomas Sowell discusses his latest book, the just-published Intellectuals and Society.

What do Noam Chomsky, Bertrand Russell, and Barack Obama have in common?

They believe that since knowledge is concentrated in people like themselves, more power needs to be placed in the hands of the “experts.” In the twentieth century all sorts of countries tried central planning. Now, the guys who run the central planning usually have advanced degrees from prestigious institutions. Mountains of statistics are sitting there and they have all the experts in the country at their beck and call, and yet when you take the power out of their hands and return it to the market, things usually end up with a higher rate of growth and a more rapid decline in poverty.

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