Thomas Woods
Nullification and free markets
States' rights meets Austrian economics.
Traditional Paleo-LibertarianOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Paleo-Libertarian hall →- Role
- Historian
- Era
- b. 1972
- Region
- United States
- Social band
- Traditional
- Placement
- +88 · −48 · −50
§ Where Thomas Woods stands
3 axesWoods writes as a populariser of the Austrian school. Meltdown (2009), which carries a foreword by Ron Paul, argues that the Federal Reserve's cheap money caused the housing bubble and that bailouts would deepen the damage, while The Church and the Market (2005) defends the free economy against interventionist readings of Catholic social teaching. He favours sound money and sweeping cuts to federal spending.
Woods wants power pulled down from Washington to the states and below. In Nullification (2010) he argues that states may refuse to enforce federal laws they judge unconstitutional, citing the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798, and Rollback (2011) calls for dismantling much of the federal government. His practical programme centres on decentralisation, shifting power to states and localities, rather than on abolishing government outright.
A traditionalist Catholic, Woods celebrated the Church's historical role in How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization (2005) and defended the old Latin Mass in Sacred Then and Sacred Now (2007). He treats moral and cultural life as the business of families, churches and local communities rather than federal law, the paleolibertarian blend of tradition and anti-statism.
How close are you to Thomas Woods?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
LivingThomas Ernest Woods Jr. (b. 1972) is an American historian, author and podcaster. Raised in Massachusetts, he studied history at Harvard and earned his doctorate at Columbia University, and he became a Catholic as a young man. He is a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, and first reached a mass audience with The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History (2004), which became a New York Times bestseller.
Woods became one of the most widely read popularisers of Austrian economics and decentralism, especially after the 2008 financial crisis, when his book Meltdown blamed the Federal Reserve rather than free markets. He was a prominent supporter of Ron Paul's presidential campaigns, built online courses in libertarian history and economics, and hosts the long-running podcast The Tom Woods Show. Critics on the left and among mainstream conservatives have attacked his defence of nullification and secession.
Notable for
- 01'Meltdown'
- 02'Nullification'
- 03The Tom Woods Show
Key works & moments
- 2004Publishes The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, a New York Times bestseller.
- 2005Publishes How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization and The Church and the Market.
- 2009Meltdown, blaming the Federal Reserve for the financial crisis, becomes a bestseller.
- 2010Publishes Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century.
- 2010sLaunches The Tom Woods Show, a libertarian podcast on history, economics and politics.
§ Minds closest to Thomas Woods
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§ Also in the Paleo-Libertarian hall
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§ Common questions
4 answersWhat is Thomas Woods's political ideology?
Thomas Woods is a paleolibertarian: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Traditional Paleo-Libertarian. Economically he is near the free-market pole (+88), championing Austrian economics, sound money and drastic cuts to federal spending. On governance he is clearly libertarian (−48), arguing for nullification, decentralisation and a radically smaller federal government. Socially he is markedly traditional (−50), a Latin Mass Catholic who wants moral life anchored in family, church and local community rather than in Washington.
Is Thomas Woods left-wing or right-wing?
Right-wing. Woods combines free-market economics, opposition to the federal welfare and regulatory state and traditionalist Catholicism, all positions associated with the American right. He is, however, sharply critical of mainstream Republicans and neoconservatives, opposing foreign wars, bailouts and the growth of federal power under both parties. That places him on the paleolibertarian right, alongside Ron Paul and the Mises Institute rather than the conservative establishment.
What does Thomas Woods mean by nullification?
Nullification is the idea that a state can declare a federal law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it within its borders. Woods revived it in his 2010 book Nullification, tracing it to Thomas Jefferson's Kentucky Resolutions and James Madison's Virginia Resolutions of 1798 against the Alien and Sedition Acts. He points to Northern resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act and modern state defiance of federal marijuana laws as examples. Critics note that federal courts have rejected the doctrine and that it was invoked by South Carolina in 1832 and by opponents of desegregation.
Which minds are closest to Thomas Woods?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Thomas Woods are Llewellyn 'Lew' Rockwell (98% alike), The Covenant Community (archetype) (97% alike) and Joseph Sobran (95% alike). The furthest is Pol Pot (0% alike).