Tom Woods facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tom Woods
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Woods in February 2021
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| Born |
Thomas Ernest Woods Jr.
August 1, 1972 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Columbia University (MPhil, PhD) |
| Spouse(s) | Jenna Woods (m. 2022) |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | Ever ancient, ever new: Catholic intellectuals and the Progressive Era (2000) |
| Doctoral advisor | Alan Brinkley |
| Influences | Aquinas · Rothbard · Hoppe |
Thomas Ernest Woods Jr. (born August 1, 1972) is an American author and podcast host. He is also a libertarian commentator. Currently, he works as a senior fellow at the Mises Institute.
Woods supports the Austrian School of economics, which is a way of thinking about how economies work. He hosts a daily podcast called The Tom Woods Show. He also used to co-host a weekly podcast called Contra Krugman.
In 2004, Woods wrote The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. This book looked at U.S. history from a paleoconservative point of view. Some writers described it as having views that supported the Confederacy. This book, along with his 2009 book Meltdown about the financial crisis of 2007–2008, became New York Times bestsellers.
Later, Woods focused on promoting libertarianism. He also supported libertarian political figures like former Congressman Ron Paul. Woods teaches homeschooling courses as part of the Ron Paul Curriculum. These courses cover Western civilization and government.
In 1994, Woods helped start a group called the League of the South. However, he no longer has ties with this group.
Contents
Education and Early Career
Tom Woods studied history at two major universities. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Harvard in 1994. Later, he received an MPhil and a PhD from Columbia in 2000.
His PhD thesis was titled The Church Confronts Modernity: Catholic Intellectuals and the Progressive Era. Woods has said this work is not related to his libertarian views.
Woods was a teacher at Suffolk County Community College in New York. This was around the time he wrote his bestselling book Politically Incorrect Guide to American History.
Views and Beliefs
Woods is a senior fellow at the Mises Institute. He also serves on the editorial board for their publication, Libertarian Papers. In August 2020, he joined the advisory board of the Mises Caucus political group.
He has written 20 books. Two of them, Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and Meltdown, were on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Woods' articles have appeared in many publications. These include The Christian Science Monitor and Investor's Business Daily. He has also written for The American Conservative.
Woods is known as a Rothbardian libertarian. He also supports anarcho-capitalism.
Libertarian Ideas
Tom Woods supports a type of libertarianism called Rothbardian or anarcho-capitalist thinking. This view believes that individual rights and property rights are very important. It also values peace, free markets, and the nonaggression principle. This means people should not use force against others.
This viewpoint opposes collectivism, violence, and forcing people to do things. Woods has said his anarchism is more about ideas than practical politics. In practice, he calls himself a "pragmatic minarchist." This means he believes in a very small government. He also sees himself as a Jeffersonian democrat.
Woods' libertarianism stresses the importance of agorism. This is a belief popular with some libertarians. He also supports alternative currencies like cryptocurrency and precious metals. He believes in political action to reduce the power of the government.
Understanding the U.S. Constitution
Woods co-wrote Who Killed the Constitution? with Kevin Gutzman. In this book, they criticize what they see as government actions that go against the U.S. Constitution. They believe this has happened from World War I up to the Obama administration.
Woods supports the ideas of Lysander Spooner. Spooner argued that the Constitution might not have authority. This is because the public has not clearly agreed to it. He also felt the Federal Government had not followed its duties and limits.
Woods supports the compact theory. He also promotes the legal idea of nullification. He says Thomas Jefferson and James Madison supported this idea. They wrote about it in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.
In his book Nullification, Woods explains the history of this idea. He also explains why it might be justified. He shows how different groups have used nullification. These include abolitionists and those against tariffs. He suggests nullification as a way for states to limit the powers of the federal government. Because of this, Woods supports the Tenth Amendment Center. This group aims to resist federal overreach through actions by states.
Woods believes the Bill of Rights only limits the federal government's power. He thinks it does not limit the power of state governments. In a 1997 article, Woods wrote that the Bill of Rights was not meant to protect people from state governments. He stated that states could make their own rules about things like the press and church-state relations.
Conservative Ideas
In a 2011 interview, Woods shared how his political views changed. He said he started at Harvard as a "middle-of-the-road Republican." Later, he became a "fully-fledged libertarian." He has criticized those he calls neoconservative. He used to identify himself as a traditional conservative.
Woods' book Politically Incorrect Guide to American History has been described as having neo-Confederate themes. Some critics said the book presented a controversial view of American history, including the Civil War era. Commentator Max Boot strongly criticized the book. Boot said Woods was too sympathetic to Southerners like John C. Calhoun. He also said Woods exaggerated the military actions of presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Woods responded by criticizing Boot. He said Boot represented "everything that is wrong with modern conservatism." Historian David Greenberg called the book "incorrect in more than just its politics." However, Judge James Haley praised the book. He called it a "compelling rebuttal to the liberal sentiment" in history texts.
Views on Immigration
Woods has expressed opposition to immigration. In a 1995 article, he argued that libertarians were mistaken to welcome immigration. He believes that open borders can affect the property rights of homeowners.
Economics
Woods supports hard money. He is critical of the Federal Reserve and other central banks. He believes these banks cause unnatural inflation and economic ups and downs. Economist Steven Horwitz noted that Woods' ideas about money and inflation are based on a specific view within the Austrian School.
Woods believes that differences in pay between genders happen for certain reasons. He thinks women might plan to leave work for a time to have children. This can make them less likely to choose high-paying jobs where knowledge changes quickly.
Woods has strongly criticized Keynesian economics. From 2015 to 2020, Woods co-hosted the Contra Krugman podcast. He hosted it with economist Robert P. Murphy. The podcast looked at the columns of Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner. They used Austrian economics ideas to point out what they saw as Krugman's errors.
Past Affiliation with League of the South
In 1994, Woods was a founding member of the League of the South. He has been criticized for this. Woods has stated that the League changed its views over time. He argued that it was not racist or antisemitic when he joined in 1994.
In 2005, Reason Magazine mentioned Woods' past with the group. They suggested his views meant he was not a libertarian. Woods wrote often for the group's magazine until 1997. He said he did not disagree with most of the views he expressed in those writings.
In 2013, a non-profit group noted that Woods often spoke at events for groups with similar views in the 1990s. They also mentioned his contributions to a project started in 2000. An article from 2014 criticized Woods for his "secessionist libertarianism." It also mentioned his continued involvement with members of the League of the South. However, it suggested he might have been naive in his views, but not racist.
In 2018, Woods said the League started as a "decentralist" group. He said it later took a "dramatic" and "vicious" turn towards racism and anti-semitism. Woods explained that the group's president admitted to making a "conscious change." This change involved "openly and directly addressing" controversial topics. Woods said this showed the group was no longer the same one he joined. He also said this is why many academics who helped start the group left.
In an interview, Woods stated, "Anyone who knows or listens to me, knows I would not be involved with anything sinister." He added that he would not apologize because the group he joined was made up of "nerdy academics like me and there was nothing wrong with that group."
COVID-19 Views
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Woods criticized public health measures. He questioned how well they worked. He also talked about possible problems with social distancing, masking, and mandatory lockdowns.
In April 2022, Woods called for a detailed book. He wanted it to explain what "public health" has been doing for the past 50 years.
The Tom Woods Show
Woods hosts a daily podcast called The Tom Woods Show. He started it in September 2013. On the show, he interviews people about economic topics, foreign policy, and history.
Awards and Recognition
Woods has received several awards for his work. In 2019, he received the Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award. This award came from the Austrian Economics Center in Vienna. He also received awards from the Independent Institute and the Institute for Humane Studies.
His book The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy (2005) won a $50,000 first prize. This was from the 2006 Templeton Enterprise Awards.
Personal Life
Woods is a traditionalist Roman Catholic. In 1994, he married his first wife, Heather. They had two daughters together. In 2020, he announced his engagement to Jenna Laino. They were married in 2022.
