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Who really said it

There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims

Attributed to Thomas Sowell b. 1930 · American economist & syndicated columnist
Attributed In copyright

The thought is Sowell’s, but not these words. His 1999 “Random Thoughts” column reads “Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims,” and a 2012 National Review column has “In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded…” The “ardently supported, nor generously rewarded” version is first recorded in a March 1999 Usenet post, and no Sowell text has been found that contains it.

Last verified 2 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Unconfirmed quote & credit

“There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims” Attributed to Thomas Sowell. His documented wording is "Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims" (syndicated column, Atlanta Journal, 5 March 1999).

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Thomas Sowell and his publishers (newspaper syndicate for the 1999 column; National Review for the 2012 column)). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Thomas Sowell — American economist, economic historian & social theorist. Theme: "There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

What Sowell actually wrote

Column
Random Thoughts: Of liberals, parasites and politics
Published
Atlanta Journal, 5 March 1999, p. A14 (syndicated; per Barry Popik)
His wording
“Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims.”
Reused
“Largesse for Losers,” National Review, 10 April 2012

In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims. Welfare states on both sides of the Atlantic have discovered that largesse to losers does not reduce their hostility to society, but only increases it. National Review, 2012

Taken from Sowell’s 10 April 2012 National Review column “Largesse for Losers,” read in an archived copy. The 1999 newspaper version is one sentence: “Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims.” Neither text contains the phrase “ardently supported, nor generously rewarded.”

National Review, Largesse for Losers (archived copy)

How the line traveled

  • Barry Popik cites Sowell’s syndicated column “Random Thoughts: Of liberals, parasites and politics” (Atlanta Journal, 5 March 1999, p. A14), which reads “Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims.” Barry Popik ↗
  • Popik’s first record of the “ardently supported, nor generously rewarded” wording is a post to the newsgroup alt.atheism on 21 March 1999, credited to “Tomas Sowell.” He calls it “possibly a misquote,” but thinks it more likely that Sowell repeated the quip on TV or radio in slightly different words. Barry Popik ↗
  • Sowell used the line again in “Largesse for Losers,” National Review, 10 April 2012: “In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims.” National Review (archived) ↗
  • Quote Investigator’s two Sowell articles cover other lines, and Wikiquote’s Thomas Sowell page does not list this quotation. Quote Investigator ↗
In copyright

Both documented versions are in modern works by a named author: a 1999 syndicated newspaper column and a 2012 National Review column, so both are under copyright in the US. The popular “ardently supported” wording has not been traced to any published Sowell work, so this page cannot name a work it belongs to. It is certainly not public domain.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Where the polished wording came from

Sowell did write this idea. What has drifted is the wording. The version on most memes reads more smoothly than anything found in his columns, and the earliest place it has been found is an online post, not his own text.

Usenet post, alt.atheism, 21 March 1999 Variant wording

In Barry Popik’s chronology, “There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims” first appears in a newsgroup post credited to “Tomas Sowell,” later that same month, after the 5 March 1999 column. Popik suggests Sowell may have said it this way on air, but cites no broadcast. Barry Popik ↗

Twitter/X posts and quote images, 2008 onward Spread

Popik records the “ardently supported” version on Twitter on 7 November 2008. A Thomas Sowell quotes account posted the column wording (“Few skills are so well rewarded…”) in 2010, 2017 and 2022, and the 2012 “In politics…” wording in 2016. So all three versions circulate side by side. Barry Popik ↗

What Sowell printed: “Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims” (Atlanta Journal, 5 March 1999). He reused it as “In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims” (National Review, 10 April 2012 ↗).

Context

A one-liner from a column of one-liners

Sowell regularly filled a column with short, unconnected observations under the heading “Random thoughts.” Jewish World Review’s archive of his columns lists several in 1999 alone (JWR Sowell archive ↗). Lines from columns like these are easy to lift and reword, and they are the kind of lines that end up as quote images.

When Sowell came back to the parasites line in 2012, he followed it with a claim about welfare states: “largesse to losers does not reduce their hostility to society, but only increases it.” Quote images drop that context. They also usually swap in the smoother “ardently supported, nor generously rewarded” wording, which has not been found in anything Sowell published.

Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Power Justice

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Barry Popik: “There is no talent so ardently supported…”barrypopik.com

Dated citations for all three wordings: the 1999 newspaper column, the 1999 Usenet post and the 2012 National Review column.
Largesse for Losers (National Review, 2012), archivedweb.archive.org

Sowell's own 2012 column containing the “In politics, few talents…” version.
Quote Investigator: Thomas Sowell tagquoteinvestigator.com

QI's two Sowell investigations; neither covers this line.
Thomas Sowell on Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Sourced Sowell quotations arranged by work; this line is not listed.
Jewish World Review: Thomas Sowell column archivejewishworldreview.com

Index of Sowell's syndicated columns from 1998 on, including his recurring “Random thoughts” pieces.
Thomas Sowell on Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

Biography: birth date, Hoover Institution fellowship, 2002 National Humanities Medal.

The author

About Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell

Born 1930 · American economist, economic historian & social theorist

Thomas Sowell was born on June 30, 1930, in Gastonia, North Carolina, and grew up in Harlem. He became an economist and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. For decades he wrote a widely syndicated newspaper column, including recurring Random Thoughts pieces made of one-line observations. That format is why so many short, punchy lines get credited to him. He received the National Humanities Medal in 2002.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Earliest Sowell text cited by Popik

Thomas Sowell, “Random Thoughts: Of liberals, parasites and politics,” Atlanta Journal, March 5, 1999, A14 (as transcribed by Barry Popik), where the line reads “Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims”; see also Thomas Sowell, “Largesse for Losers,” National Review, April 10, 2012. The “ardently supported, nor generously rewarded” wording appears in neither.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘There is no talent so ardently supported, nor generously rewarded, as the ability to convince parasites they are victims’?” Last verified 2 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/there-is-no-talent-so-ardently-supported-nor-generously/

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