Maggie's Farm

"At the heart of the social vision among contemporary intellectuals is the idea that there are "problems" and "solutions."

Sowell says rightly that there are only trade-offs

I'm gonna steal that one!

You've got your "intellectuals", "Marxists", etc. and their ideologies all mixed up.

Indeed, it is intellectuals a.k.a. progressives - such as Ezekiel Emanual (the father of ObamaCare) - who have argued that the elderly and disabled shouldn't receive certain treatments because their economic value to society is too low. While not a "classic Marxist" argument, Marx disciples certainly believed the same thing as evidenced by their actions.

The "litmus test of public opinion" is the tyranny of the majority - the type of rule whereby a black majority country, such as South Africa, can institute laws legalizing the murder whites and the taking of their property - which Mr Sowell opposes and which is supposed to be prevented by the Bill of Rights which was drafted to protect the rights of the individual, not the demands of the majority.

Mr. Sowell is correct that in this world of finite resources, choices necessarily involve trade-offs. He also warns in other essays about the problem of unintended and unanticipated consequences - like the ones you evidently failed to consider when you posted your weak argument.