Major Themes in Thomas Sowell’s A Conflict of Visions
Your Task • Choose ONE policy issue from the list below
– If a policy issue is addressed in one of the party platforms but not the other, then you
must investigate the candidate’s other speeches for evidence of a position on the issue.
– Identify and describe each political party’s political ideology and position on the issue
(the “what”) In other words, what does the document state as their position?
– Explain how their vision of human nature, knowledge and reason, and social processes
impact their understanding of the assigned issue (the “why”)
– Further examine each political party’s position on the issue by looking at ONE
application that best applies: Equality, Power, Justice.
USE THESE WEBSITES2020 Democratic Party
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2020-democratic-party-platform
2016 Republican Party Platform
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2016-republican-party-platform
Policy Issues you can Use
● COVID-19
● Gun laws/rights
● Health insurance
● Defense spending/war
● Social welfare/social
security/housing/etc.
● Security/terrorism
● Classical liberalism
● Drugs/crime
● Taxes Constitutions/law
● Corporations
● Women’s rights
● Abortions
● Pay equity
● Climate change
● Foreign aid
● Infrastructure
● Worker’s wages
● Immigration/undocumented
immigration
● Systemic racism
● Race/ethnicity/inequality
● LGTBQIA+
● Public education/charter schools
● Affirmative action
● Economic stimulus
● Families
● Religious liberty/discrimination
● Voting rights
● Criminal justice/prison/police reform
