Social Justice Fallacies by Thomas Sowell

The pursuit of social justice is a powerful contemporary crusade, appealing to different people for different reasons. But those who use the same words do not necessarily mean the same thing to each other. Clarifying that meaning is the first step toward knowing what we agree and what we disagree with. From there, the big question is what the facts are. The "social justice fallacy" reveals that much of what is thought to be true simply does not stand up to documented facts and is often the opposite of what is widely believed.

No matter how appealing a vision of social justice may be, the crucial question is whether a social justice agenda will lead to the realization of that vision. History shows that social justice agendas often lead in the opposite direction, sometimes with catastrophic results.

There is more involved than mere mistakes. We are all prone to mistakes, and social justice advocates do not necessarily make more mistakes than others. But crusaders who have full confidence in their mission are often unfazed by obstacles, evidence, or even deadly danger. Much of the Western world is there today. The question is whether we will continue to carelessly advance past the point of no return.