The welfare state is the oldest con game in the world. First you take people's money away quietly and then you give some of it back to them flamboyan… - Thomas Sowell

Slippery use of the word “privilege” is part of a vogue of calling achievements “privileges” — a vogue which extends far beyond educational issues, spreading a toxic confusion in many other aspects of life.

It may be expecting too much to expect most intellectuals to have common sense, when their whole life is based on their being uncommon -- that is, saying things that are different from what everyone else is saying. There is only so much genuine originality in anyone. After that, being uncommon means indulging in pointless eccentricities or clever attempts to mock or shock.

It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.