The influence of intellectuals is not only greater than in previous eras but also takes a very different form from that envisioned by those like Machiavelli and others who have wanted to directly influence rulers. It has not been by shaping the opinions or directing the actions of the holders of power that modern intellectuals have most influenced the course of events, but by shaping public opinion in ways that affect the actions of power holders in democratic societies, whether or not those power holders accept the general vision or the particular policies favored by intellectuals. Even government leaders with disdain or contempt for intellectuals have had to bend to the climate of opinion shaped by those intellectuals. Intellectuals and Society not only examines the track record of intellectuals in the things they have advocated but also analyzes the incentives and constraints under which their views and visions have emerged. One of the most surprising aspects of this study is how often intellectuals have been proved not only wrong, but grossly and disastrously wrong in their prescriptions for the ills of society—and how little their views have changed in response to empirical evidence of the disasters entailed by those views.

托馬斯·索維爾（Thomas Sowell），美國當代傑齣的經濟學傢、最具影響力的社會評論傢。先後在康奈爾大學、加州大學洛杉磯分校、哥倫比亞大學以及斯坦福大學講授經濟學課程，現為斯坦福大學鬍佛研究所公共政策高級研究員。 托馬斯·索維爾在經濟學和廣泛的人文社科領域均有重要建樹。他撰寫瞭包括《基礎經濟學》、《被掩蓋的經濟真相》、《美國種族簡史》在內的30餘部著作，多本被翻譯成法文、德文、西班牙文和日文齣版，其中多本是亞馬遜網上書店的超級暢銷書。他還在《福布斯》、《財富》、《新聞周刊》、《時代》周刊、《華爾街日報》、《華盛頓郵報》等主流媒體上發錶瞭大量文章，並擔任多傢著名媒體的專欄作傢，廣泛討論各種社會問題。 他獲得的榮譽包括由美國企業研究所頒發的、備受尊敬的“博伊爾奬”（Francis Boyer Award）、美國“國傢人文科學奬章”、布萊德雷基金奬等。