Life in general has never been even close to fair, so the pretense that the government can make it fair is a valuable and inexhaustible asset to politicians who want to expand government.

The quote "Life in general has never been even close to fair, so the pretense that the government can make it fair is a valuable and inexhaustible asset to politicians who want to expand government." by Thomas Sowell critiques the idea that government can create true fairness or equality in society. Sowell argues that life itself is inherently unequal, with factors such as birth, opportunity, and personal choices shaping individual circumstances. The notion that the government can rectify these inequalities is, according to Sowell, a political tool used by politicians to gain power and support for expanding the reach of government.

Sowell’s statement emphasizes that the promise of fairness is often used as a rhetorical device by politicians seeking to justify more government intervention in people's lives. By framing inequality as something that can be corrected through government action, politicians tap into public dissatisfaction and offer solutions that increase the size and influence of government. This, in turn, allows them to consolidate political power while fostering the illusion of a more equitable society.

The origin of the quote can be found in Sowell’s broader critique of government policies and his belief in the importance of personal responsibility and free-market solutions. As an economist and social theorist, Sowell often argued that attempts to engineer fairness through government policies tend to create more problems than they solve. Instead of reducing inequality, such interventions often exacerbate it by distorting natural incentives and creating dependency.

In essence, Sowell’s quote suggests that the idea of government-driven fairness is more of a political strategy than a feasible reality. Politicians use this promise to expand the power of the state, but in doing so, they distract from the fact that life is inherently unequal and that the government's efforts to impose fairness can often result in unintended consequences that perpetuate inequality rather than alleviate it.