A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles

The landmark explanation of the competing visions of human nature that lie at the heart of our political conflicts

"A classic of a very special kind...Reading it is like looking up at the night sky and discovering a new constellation." --Christian Science Monitor

Controversies in politics arise from many sources, but the conflicts that endure for generations or centuries show a remarkably consistent pattern. In this classic work, Thomas Sowell analyzes this pattern. He describes the two competing visions that shape our debates about the nature of reason, justice, equality, and power: the "constrained" vision, which sees human nature as unchanging and selfish, and the "unconstrained" vision, in which human nature is malleable and perfectible. A Conflict of Visions offers a convincing case that ethical and policy disputes circle around the disparity between both outlooks.