Posted on 03/05/2012 10:43:24 AM PST by jazusamo
Prayers for his family but whew! At first sight I thought James Q. Wilson WAS Thomas Sowell!
Sorry, I didn’t think of that, I’m so used to adding his name to the title. :)
By systematically confronting the prevailing notions and rhetoric with undeniable facts to the contrary, James Q. Wilson began to wear away the prevailing social dogmas of intellectuals behind the counterproductive changes in law and society. It was much like water wearing away rock — slowly but continually.
The common sense that had once produced and sustained declining crime rates began to reappear, here and there, in the criminal justice system and sometimes prevailed. Murder rates began to decline again. James Q. Wilson was the leader in this fight. He said, "We have trifled with the wicked."
There is no way to know which ones of us are alive today because of his work. But we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
True - many of us owe our lives to the "uncommon" common sense and bravery of James Q Wilson - just as many of us also owe our lives to the bravery and uncommon common sense of men like Thomas Sowell.
Well said.
Lol, I thought the same thing. Almost skipped a few beats.
Lol, I thought the same thing. Almost skipped a few beats.
“In other words, we had to solve the criminals’ problems, in order to solve the problem of crime.”
Never seen a better synopsis of the attitude that has created the crime problem of today.
“Broken Windows” by Kellig and Wilson was one of the first things I read when I started by degree in criminal justice. They couldn’t get a CJ journal to publish it so they had to go to The Atlantic - that’s how unpopular their theory was at the time (1982)
Now, I make all my students read it. We’ll miss you , Mr Wilson.
Both our son and daughter have degrees in criminal justice from 80’s and 90’s, am anxious to discuss this with them.
In the 1960's, Jas. Q. Wilson contributed a long and learned essay, a copy of which I have in the "edidit" text he contributed to (it became a required book in the University of Houston curriculum; a student gave a copy to the Houston Library, and in due course, years later, I found it on their $3 book cart).
Wilson described the way in which donors of outside money -- foundations started it, LBJ institutionalized it with his massive cash-disbursing programs that bypassed the States and subvened local governmental bodies and NGO's with huge bribes -- turn the heads of our elected officials.
Wilson distinguished the money-giving groups as the audience, for whom politicians perform, from mere voters and taxpayers, who haven't the power to withhold their moneys, who are the constituency whom the politicians, with revocable money being diligently and purposefully waved under their noses, ignore whenever the audience intervenes with its agenda in a major decision.
Thread bump.
Still dusting off Mr. Wilson’s books and related books in the reference section of my library.
Thanks for the ping jaz.
Picked from the rubbish heap of history and flaunted anew as riches.
I read a poem that had that sentence when I was in third grade and I can't remember the author.
True - many of us owe our lives to the "uncommon" common sense and bravery of James Q Wilson - just as many of us also owe our lives to the bravery and uncommon common sense of men like Thomas Sowell.There is no way to know which ones of us are alive today because of his work. But we all owe him a debt of gratitude.
There is Thomas Sowell, and there are men who are not like Thomas Sowell. Unfortunately.
RIP
We agree on this one...
Bump!
“Wilson distinguished the money-giving groups as the audience, for whom politicians perform, from mere voters and taxpayers, who haven’t the power to withhold their moneys, who are the constituency whom the politicians, with revocable money being diligently and purposefully waved under their noses, ignore whenever the audience intervenes with its agenda in a major decision.”
Very astute. It’s interesting how the right phrasing can cause something to snap into focus.
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