… is from page 102 of Thomas Sowell’s 1993 collection, Is Reality Optional?:
What they [the media and politicians] want to hear are things that make for excitement, crusades, and a chance to be on the side of the angels. They want statistics or anything else that blames our whole way of life for creating catastrophic dangers that only the wise and noble few can save us from.
Whether it is “the greenhouse effect,” chemical residues from pesticides, the dangers of nuclear radiation, or a thousand other things, the bottom line is the same: The morally anointed are to stand on Olympus and order the rest of us around – for our own good.
Statistics that ruin this scenario are rarely mentioned.
