We are adherents to what Thomas Sowell calls the Constrained Vision.
We believe the Constrained Vision – contra the Unconstrained Vision of Utopia, Communism, and Expertise – means taking people as they are, testing ideas empirically, and …Our present society has been subjected to a mass demoralization campaign for six decades – against technology and against life – under varying names like “existential risk”, “sustainability”, “ESG”, “Sustainable Development Goals”, “social …Milton Friedman
Neven Sesardic
Nick Land
Paul Collier
Paul Johnson
Paul Romer
Ray Kurzweil
Richard Feynman
Rose Wilder Lane
Stephen Wolfram
Stewart Brand
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Thomas Sowell
Vilfredo Pareto
Virginia Postrel
Willia…
Thomas Sowell
economist · 3 mentions across 1 reading
In this course
Thomas Sowell is an economist and social theorist known for distinguishing between the "Constrained Vision" (accepting human nature as fixed, favoring empirical testing and individual choice) and the "Unconstrained Vision" (assuming perfectibility through expertise and centralized planning). The course readings invoke his framework to critique what they see as a utopian, technocratic approach to AI governance, positioning Sowell's pragmatism against aspirational visions of AI-driven social engineering. His work appears here as intellectual ballast for an argument skeptical of expert-driven solutions to technological and social problems.
Mentioned in 1 reading
Appears alongside
People mentioned in the same passages — sorted by co-occurrence weight.
Alexandre Kojève 1George Orwell 1Thomas More 1Adam Neumann 1David Ulevitch 1Marc Andreessen 1Martin Casado 1Milton Friedman 1Neven Sesardic 1Nick Land 1Paul Collier 1Paul Johnson 1Paul Romer 1Ray Kurzweil 1Richard Feynman 1Rose Wilder Lane 1Stephen Wolfram 1Stewart Brand 1Vijay Pande 1Vilfredo Pareto 1Virginia Postrel 1William Lewis 1William Nordhaus 1J. Bradford DeLong 1