# Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective **URL:** **By** Thomas Sowell, Aaron Ross Powell, Trevor Burrus **Published:** November 4, 2016 --- Thomas Sowell joins us for a discussion about disparities of income and wealth between and within nations. What are some of the geographical factors throughout history that lead to unequal outcomes? Can we tease out a causal direction for something like cultural dishonesty? Is isolation—cultural, geographic, and otherwise—always bad for a society? How does all of this relate to the ongoing income inequality debate in America? **Show Notes and Further Reading** Thomas Sowell's newest book is [_Wealth, Poverty, and Politics: Revised and Enlarged Edition_](https://www.amazon.com/Wealth-Poverty-Politics-Thomas-Sowell/dp/046509676X/) (2016). Sowell mentions J. D. Vance's [_Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis_](https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Elegy-Memoir-Family-Culture/dp/0062300547) (2016). [Freedom on Trial](https://www.libertarianism.org/videos/freedom-trial) is our new courtroom drama that takes viewers into the heart of the everyday issues that arise when an employer’s desire to hire more employees runs into the barrier of minimum wage laws, and when the government’s plans to “solve” income inequality only makes things worse.