{"id":1298,"date":"2026-09-08T06:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/?p=1298"},"modified":"2026-08-29T17:22:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T23:22:52","slug":"i-am-sowellian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/i-am-sowellian\/","title":{"rendered":"I Am Sowellian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2><em>The Resurgence of Thomas Sowell<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thomas-sowell.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1299\" width=\"524\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thomas-sowell.png 550w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thomas-sowell-296x300.png 296w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/thomas-sowell-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 524px) 100vw, 524px\" \/><figcaption>Thomas Sowell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/i-am-sowellian\/\">I Am Sowellian<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/capitalism-didnt-create-human-nature\/\">Capitalism Didn\u2019t Create Human Nature<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/01\/what-identity-is-not\/\">What Identity is Not<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/01\/a-man-without-guardrails\/\">A Man Without Guardrails<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/08\/25\/two-truths-at-once\/\">Two Truths at Once<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I came to learn of Thomas Sowell through Jordan Peterson. He kept mentioning this name and I became curious. As I began to look into Sowell, I found myself drawn to his philosophy. The interesting part is I have never been one for economics. But that\u2019s just it, Sowell is much more than an economist. The more I looked into Sowell, the more I found a sense of resurgence in his ideas and celebrity. It caused me to ask the question: why the sudden resurgence of Thomas Sowell?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>To answer this, I began asking around. Some answers I received:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>They\u2019re sick of the absurd<\/li><li>Because he\u2019s a truth teller with no condescension<\/li><li>There\u2019s a systemic ache for logical thought<\/li><li>Lost sheep looking for a shepherd<\/li><li>Common sense is making a comeback<\/li><li>Probably Charlie Kirk, he mentioned Sowell often<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Who is Thomas Sowell?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a child, he was raised in the Jim Crow south, namely North Carolina. When he was eight years old, his family moved to Harlem, New York City. It was there he found his love of books. He began to search for avenues of expression in a time that prohibited interracial collaboration. He made a series of mistakes, including dropping out of high school and getting in various forms of trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He then heard of a very interesting philosophical idea that finally posed an alternative to what he could clearly see was not working. This idea was Marxism. Such philosophy felt like a fresh drink of water to Sowell. Sowell received his bachelor\u2019s degree at Harvard University and his master\u2019s degree from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.substack.com\/p\/the-red-assault-on-the-family\">Columbia University. It is no wonder that <strong><em>Marxism<\/em><\/strong> was appealing to him<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sowell then went to the University of Chicago to get his PhD in economics under Milton Friedman. Even after taking courses by Friedman, Sowell remained a Marxist. It was only when he got the opportunity to see the federal government up close that he shifted his stance away from Marxism to free market capitalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Sowell\u2019s Turn From Marxism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The enlightenment came when he was tasked to investigate the natural disasters causing unemployment in Puerto Rico. He noticed that the employment reduction took place at precisely the same time they implemented a minimum wage law. When he presented this to his employers at the US Department of Labor, they immediately rejected this notion because much of their budget came from enforcing this minimum wage law. He quickly saw that the government prioritized their own self-interests over that of the poor people affected by such laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This led him directly out of Marxism and into the pursuit of Milton Friedman, among others. He began writing and became senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University. It was here he presented hid positions on economics and philosophy. He wrote countless articles for newspaper publications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>A Career of Criticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the midst of this, he was scorned, mocked, ridiculed, and ostracized by the black leaders of his time for his position that when asked about the plight of the black family, black people were saying one thing, and the so-called self-appointed leaders were saying something entirely different. He pointed this discrepancy out and such leaders attempted to suppress his voice as often as possible, quiet vigorously. Though he will never say this, it burned him. It extinguished his desire to affect the nation as a whole. He was quite satisfied to sit in the background, write books and cultivate his love of photography. Thus the reason he never became a household name quite like that of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He, along with Walter Williams, began writing from their perspective, representing a small but growing faction of people who felt represented by these two men. It was once said that Sowell and Williams could not get onto the same airplane for fear that it would go down carrying the entire black conservative movement with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Reasons for Resurgence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some have speculated that Sowell had a knack for delivering answers to questions in succinct ways that most anyone could understand. This made for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/d8U8cx4JniE?si=drGu2jetKtGDJZ-E\">YouTube gold<\/a>. There is also a notion that the current national rebellion taking place plays into Sowell\u2019s philosophy to distrust the elite, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/d8U8cx4JniE?si=drGu2jetKtGDJZ-E\"><em>Anointed<\/em><\/a>, in favor of free thinking average workers who both benefit and suffer cost from decisions made on their behalf. Sowell routinely discredited those who believed they had all the answers, suggesting that this is impossible. Such rhetoric stemmed from his reading of Adam Smith and Friedrich Hayek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My sense is that his message of following the facts and letting that determine the perspective is currently foreign to many up-and-coming thinkers. To many young people who have been told they can identify with a microwave today if they want to and realizing this makes no real sense, someone like Sowell sounds like a huge breath of fresh air in common sense, something largely lacking in universities today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Much like I said in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.substack.com\/p\/gen-zs-breaking-point\"><em>a previous article<\/em><\/a>, this new generation has been told lies based on a feeling of the moment, rather than a truth to be lived among the masses for eternity. They have been told only their feelings matter, and if they feel it, it must be right. They have heard the noise and it didn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along comes Sowell and says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Stop dropping standards<\/li><li><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/BHC4EHn6owI?si=oCiMLis2E5ebyrDF\">There are no solutions, only trade-offs<\/a><\/li><li><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/BL9GLB_4zAE?si=7PoeIpZp0sX8V3bq\">Trust the average many over the elite few<\/a><\/li><li>Restrict malevolent behavior to ensure equality of opportunity, rather than look for the impossibility of equality of results.<\/li><li>Refuse to place power in the hands of those who bear no cost for being wrong.<\/li><li><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/R-t800kFPrk?si=pTn0GUARJrIa45gw\">Admit students on merit. Otherwise you risk admitting a student that will be forced to drop out due to not meeting minimum qualification once enrolled in the university<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This makes sense. To them and to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, I\u2019m grateful for the uprising of Thomas Sowell fans. Due to another Substacker, I now refer to myself as Sowellian. I strongly encourage a deep dive into the man\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay Classy GP!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grainger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Resurgence of Thomas Sowell I came to learn of Thomas Sowell through Jordan Peterson. He kept mentioning this name and I became curious. As I began to look into Sowell, I found myself drawn to his philosophy. The interesting part is I have never been one for economics. But that\u2019s just it, Sowell is &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/09\/08\/i-am-sowellian\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;I Am Sowellian&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[166,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1300,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1298\/revisions\/1300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}