The pursuit of both traditional justice and Cosmic Justice by the Supreme Court has led to inconsistent decisions, as genuine equality of opportunity cannot be achieved by traditional justice, and pursuing Cosmic Justice can lead to character assassination and a society where disagreements are grounds for smears, ultimately victimizing both those targeted and those advocating for it
Questions to inspire discussion
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What is the difference between traditional justice and Cosmic Justice?
—Traditional justice aims to treat everyone the same, while Cosmic Justice aims to equalize prospects for everyone, which is incompatible with applying the same rules and standards to all.
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Why has the pursuit of both traditional justice and Cosmic Justice led to inconsistent decisions?
—The requirements for each are very different, and Cosmic Justice requires a larger amount of government power, leading to inconsistent decisions by the Supreme Court.
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What is the aim of Cosmic Justice in addressing societal inequities?
—Cosmic Justice aims to correct not only societal inequities but also the oversights of God or the defects of the cosmos, requiring redress for undeserved inequalities.
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How does the pursuit of Cosmic Justice impact education and affirmative action?
—It requires taking into account social backgrounds and handicaps, such as not requiring achievement tests and renorming test scores, which can impact the fairness of present-day conceptions of education and affirmative action.
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What are the dangers of pursuing Cosmic Justice?
—The pursuit of Cosmic Justice can lead to character assassination and a society where disagreements are grounds for smears, ultimately victimizing both those targeted and those advocating for it.
Key Insights
- 💰 Thomas Sowell argues that "Cosmic Justice" is incompatible with traditional justice, as it seeks to equalize outcomes rather than apply the same rules and standards to everyone.
- 🏫 Sowell's upbringing in Harlem highlights the lack of educational opportunities for children in low-income areas.
About
Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American author, economist, and political commentator who is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. Sowell was born in segregated Gastonia, North Carolina, to a poor family, and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.
Afterward he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he has served on the faculties of Cornell University, Amherst College, Brandeis University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and, currently, Stanford University. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Clips
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00:00 👑 The Supreme Court's pursuit of both traditional justice and Cosmic Justice has led to inconsistent decisions due to the incompatible nature of equalizing prospects and treating everyone the same.
- Cosmic Justice, unlike traditional justice, aims to equalize prospects for everyone, which is incompatible with applying the same rules and standards to all.
- The Supreme Court's pursuit of both treating everyone the same and Cosmic Justice has led to inconsistent decisions, as the requirements for each are very different and Cosmic Justice requires a larger amount of government power.
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01:51 💡 Genuine equality of opportunity cannot be achieved by traditional justice.
- The same words have different meanings in the two frameworks, where a fair fight means different things and genuine equality of opportunity cannot be achieved by traditional justice.
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03:18 🌟 Redressing inequalities in education requires considering social backgrounds and handicaps, such as not requiring achievement tests and renorming test scores.
- Undeserved inequalities require redress through what is called Cosmic justice, which aims to correct not only societal inequities but also the oversights of God or the defects of the cosmos.
- Redressing inequalities in education requires taking into account social backgrounds and handicaps, such as not requiring achievement tests and renorming test scores.
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05:28 📚 Miss Simon's unfair homework made it difficult for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but the speaker learned that life isn't always fair and hard work is necessary to escape poverty.
- Miss Simon was a strict teacher who made her students write misspelled words 50 times as homework, which was unfair for students like the speaker who came from a home where nobody had gone beyond elementary school.
- Fairness was never an option for the speaker when he graduated from Harvard, and pretending to make things fair would have been an irresponsible self-indulgence, as they were forced to meet standards that were a little harder for them to meet than for some other kids, but far more necessary for them to meet because that was the only way out of poverty.
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07:43 📚 Education is key to success, but the fairness of present-day education and affirmative action is questioned.
- The speaker reminisces with a friend about their past and how their education allowed them to succeed, questioning the fairness of present-day conceptions of education and affirmative action.
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09:20 🐻 Pursuing cosmic justice can lead to character assassination and a society where disagreements are grounds for smears, ultimately victimizing both those targeted and those advocating for it.
- Mascots serve to symbolize something that makes people feel good, but the actual fate of the mascot is rarely considered, and while real justice and equality are desirable, some versions of these ideals are impossible and attempting the impossible has real dangers and costs.
- The pursuit of cosmic justice can lead to character assassination and a society where disagreements are grounds for smears, ultimately victimizing both those targeted and those advocating for it.
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12:11 💭 People prioritize their abstract visions over the needs of real people, as seen in the actions of dictators like Lenin.
- People can become so fixated on their vision that they disregard empirical reality and the needs of flesh and blood people, as exemplified by Lenin and other dictators.
- People are often more attached to abstract visions of justice than to actual people, even if it doesn't benefit those it's intended to help.
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13:57 💔 Lowering educational standards for disadvantaged backgrounds hinders potential for remarkable achievements like bilingualism and high calculus scores.
- Lowering educational standards to accommodate disadvantaged backgrounds is devastating as it hinders the potential for remarkable achievements, such as bilingualism and high calculus scores, that can be attained with a decent education.