The Unconstrained Vision In Thomas Sowell's A Conflict Of Visions

Everybody has a vision. Some people don’t realize they have one, or even know what a vision is. As Thomas Sowell writes, “A vision is our sense of how the world works. They are the foundations on which theories are built.” A person’s worldview and opinion on various matters is their vision, even if it’s subconscious. There are many types and ways to categorize visions, but Sowell describes two main types: the constrained vision and the unconstrained vision. These are visions of human nature. Problems such as war, poverty, and crime are seen in completely separate ways by people with the constrained vision and the unconstrained vision. The constrained vision believes that all people have evil, and there will always be evil. They see …show more content…
Therefore, followers of this vision take people’s selfish motives into account when constructing solutions to problems. On the other hand, the unconstrained vision believes that people are perfectible, and can be continually improved. They view human nature as something that can be beneficially changed by forcible intervention. The unconstrained vision allows itself to search for a solution where evil in people can be removed. They believe that the evils of the world arise when people make foolish or immoral choices, and that wiser and more moral social policies are the solution. Also in Thomas Sowell’s A Conflict of Visions, he describes how Rousseau, the most famous advocate of the unconstrained vision, says that human nature is “narrowed and corrupted by social institutions.” Rousseau also expresses the unconstrained vision when he says that “men are not naturally enemies.” Many people have not even heard of the unconstrained and constrained visions, yet their actions clearly fit into the beliefs of one of these two visions. A great modern example of these two contrasting visions can be found in the gun …show more content…
However, the unconstrained vision thinks that this happens because of society, or poverty for instance. They think the way to correct these problems is to fix society, and poverty. The constrained vision believes that this happens because all people are evil and will always be like that. An example of the ways both visions agree on something in the gun control debate, is how they can deter criminals with background checks, and reporting lost or stolen guns. They both believe that setting up roadblocks such as background checks will help catch criminals before the crime occurs. It isn’t foolproof, but it helps. By reporting lost and stolen guns, officials will be able to realize a gun crime is bound to happen and can find the offender before more violence takes place. In the gun control debate this is where the two sides come together and agree. The constrained and unconstrained visions hope to deter criminals before a gun crime