He's an economist, a historian, a philosopher, and one of the greatest social theorist America has ever produced.

In a career spanning six decades, he's published more than 40 books and written thousands of newspaper columns

on topics ranging from economic history and political philosophy to social inequality, education, and race.

His name is Thomas Sol, and he might be the most important scholar you've never heard of.

Born during the Great Depression in rural North Carolina, in a home with no electricity, Sol was orphaned when he was just a toddler.

Taken in by a distant relative, he grew up in New York City's Harlem neighborhood.

An unruly teen, he was obviously intelligent, and obviously full of anger.

The latter initially overwhelmed the former.

He dropped out of high school, left home at age 17, and lived in a shelter for homeless boys, where he kept a knife under his pillow at night for protection.

The Marine saved him. It wasn't by choice. He was drafted during the Korean War.

In the military, he gained habits of personal discipline and developed self-control.

He taught pistol shooting and learned photography, which became a lifelong hobby.

After leaving the Marines, he went to college on the GI Bill, eventually graduating from Harvard, and doing additional studies at the University of Chicago,

under the guidance of the legendary economist Milton Friedman.

He began his intellectual journey as a committed Marxist, but soon reached a life-altering conclusion.

Marxism didn't work.

After studying the effects of various government regulations, including minimum wage laws, he concluded that free markets were far better alternative, particularly for disadvantaged groups.

Many attempts at redistributing wealth, he later wrote, have ended up redistributing poverty.

In the 1960s and 70s, Sol taught economics at Amherst, Cornell, and UCLA, distinguishing himself as one of the country's top experts on economic history.

Since 1980, he's been a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.

It was around this time that Sol turned his attention to social theory and political philosophy, writing books like, knowledge and decisions and a conflict of visions, which many consider to be his best professional work.

He also began writing more about racial controversies, which is why he's not as well known and appreciated today as he should be.

...