a visão trágica da natureza humana

Sowell’s tragic (or constrained) vision of man and society is based on the acceptance of the realities of the human condition – we are all limited by independent realities which we ignore to our own detriment. According to Sowell’s vision:
1) Human nature is essentially unchanging and unchangeable – there have been no great changes in the fundamental intellectual and moral capacities of human beings
2) Human capabilities are severely and inherently bounded for all – man is sharply restricted in his capacity for improvement and has only a very limited ability to affect his surroundings
3) Life is inherently harsh and difficult – suffering and evil are inherent in the innate deficiencies of human beings
4) Man is basically self-centered; however, things can be improved within that constraint by primarily relying on incentives (rewards and punishments) rather than on dispositions
5) Resources are always inadequate to fulfill all of the desires of all of the people
6) Social outcomes are a function of incentives presented to individuals and the conditions under which they interact in response to those incentives
7) Given the moral limitations of man and his egocentricity, the fundamental moral challenge is to make the best of the possibilities within the constraints of man’s nature
8) There are no solutions, only trade-offs that leave many desires unfulfilled and much unhappiness in the world
9) It is imperative to have the right processes for making trade-offs and correcting inevitable errors
10) It is better to cope incrementally with tragic dilemmas than to proceed categorically with moral imperatives – for amelioration of evils and for progress it is generally preferable to rely on systemic characteristics of social processes (such as moral traditions, the marketplace, the law, or families) rather than solutions proposed by government officials.

Edward Younkins