It’s always good to hear what Thomas Sowell has to say. He’s the gold standard.
Government tends to be backward thinking. It’s in the nature of consensus. There are lags. In contrast, progress comes from those individuals who sensibly violate the consensus.
In this case, land ownership had prestige. The Government forbad Jews from owning land. Being a “money-changer” was seen as being for the lowest of the low. Jews were allowed to do that. So the government forbids Jews from agriculture, an industry in decline, but allows them to enter banking, a growth industry. Government screws things up so badly that, intending to screw the Jews, it makes them rich.
Look at Democrats. They still hate cars. They love trains and windmills. Nostalgia rules the day. Wasn’t it nice when the rich road in horse-drawn carriages on their way to the train station? Let’s return to the days of “Upstairs, Downstairs,” living upstairs of course. Democrats still want to take care of Blacks, just like they did when they literally owned them.
Addendum:
Everyone can’t be right.