"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it"

This quote by Thomas Sowell is a criticism of socialism as a financial system. He is suggesting that the failure of socialism is so obvious that only somebody with an intellectual background could disregard or reject it. He suggests that the proof of socialism's failure is so clear that it ought to be obvious to anyone. Sowell is most likely describing the fact that lots of countries that have actually adopted socialism have experienced financial stagnation, poverty, and inequality. He is suggesting that the only way to disregard this proof is to be an intellectual who has the ability to develop complicated arguments to explain away the failures of socialism. In essence, Sowell is arguing that socialism is not a practical economic system which its failures should be obvious to everybody.