The Political Economy of Liberation: Thomas Sowell and James Cone on the Black Experience

219 Pages·2012·1.22 MB·English

by  Anthony Bradley

Advance Praise for
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LIBERATION

“Generally people share the common goal of wanting greater well-being
for our fellow man. Despite the fact of that common goal, more often
than not, we see people grouped into contentious factions, in the pursuit
of different, often polar opposite, policies in the name of helping their
fellow man. Anthony B. Bradley does a yeoman’s job in explaining how
this conflict occurs in The Political Economy of Liberation.”
Walter E. Williams, John M. Olin Distinguished
Professor of Economics, George Mason University

The Political Economy
of Liberation
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Studies
in Religion, Culture, and
Social Development

Mozella G. Mitchell
General Editor

Vol. 12

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Anthony B. Bradley

The Political Economy
of Liberation

Thomas Sowell and James Cone
on the Black Experience

PETER LANG
New York (cid:121) Washington, D.C./Baltimore (cid:121) Bern
Frankfurt (cid:121) Berlin (cid:121) Brussels (cid:121) Vienna (cid:121) Oxford
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bradley, Anthony B.
The political economy of liberation: Thomas Sowell and James Cone
on the black experience / Anthony B. Bradley.
p. cm. — (Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial studies in
religion, culture, and social development; v. 12)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Sowell, Thomas, 1930–. 2. Cone, James. 3. Black theology—
Economic aspects. 4. Liberation theology—United States.
5. African Americans—Religion. 6. African Americans—Social conditions.
7. Economics—Political aspects. 8. Economics—Sociological aspects. I. Title.
BT82.7.B726 261.8’508996073—dc23 2011051552
ISBN 978-1-4331-1183-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-0554-8 (e-book)
ISSN 1052-181X

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data is available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council of Library Resources.

© 2012 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
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All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
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Printed in Germany
Bradley Final_Bradley fin 1/12/12 2:32 PM Page v
To the four institutions that have shaped my political and economic think-
ing: The Hoover Institution, The Institute for Humane Studies, The Acton
Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and Fordham University
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1. Anthropology 1
2. The Proper Function and Use of Knowledge 21
3. The Application of Redemption and The Connectedness To
Historical Oppression 50
4. Classical Liberalism and Intellectual Discourse of Sowell’s
Process Emphasis 73
5. Toward a Humane Liberation Ethic 91
6. The Fundamentals of Political Economy for Black Liberation 119
Notes 139
Bibliography 175
Index 193