Thomas Sowell, the great economist and -- for lack of a better way of saying it -- purveyor of common sense, turns 81 today. His books and articles are an ongoing recipe book for thinking and writing clearly. My favorites include A Conflict of Visions, The Vision of the Anointed, The Quest for Cosmic Justice, and Intellectuals and Society, all of which take different tacks toward diagnosing and deconstructing the "intellectual" hubris of modern liberalism.