Tom Woods
Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (born 1972) is an American historian and author. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University. He has been a history department faculty member at Suffolk Community College in New York. Woods is a senior faculty member of the Ludwig von Mises Institute (LvMI) and associate scholar of the Abbeville Institute.
Catholicism, history, and political incorrectness
Woods is a convert to the Roman Catholic Church and author of The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy. He is best known for his 2004 bestseller[1]The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. He is associate editor of The Latin Mass Magazine, which supports traditional Catholicism.
Woods' flavor of Conservatism
In articles he has written dealing with the political spectrum of Americans, Woods makes a sharp distinction between conservative thinkers with whom he sympathizes, and neoconservative thinkers. In articles, lectures and interviews Woods traces the intellectual and political lineage of both the older conservative, or paleoconservative, school of thought and the neoconservative school of thought. Of the latter he writes:
- The conservative’s traditional sympathy for the American South and its people and heritage, evident in the works of such great American conservatives as Richard M. Weaver and Russell Kirk, began to disappear.... [T]he neocons are heavily influenced by Woodrow Wilson, with perhaps a hint of Theodore Roosevelt.... They believe in an aggressive U.S. presence practically everywhere, and in the spread of democracy around the world, by force if necessary.... Neoconservatives tend to want more efficient government agencies; paleoconservatives want fewer government agencies. They generally admire President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his heavily interventionist New Deal policies. Neoconservatives have not exactly been known for their budget consciousness, and you won’t hear them talking about making any serious inroads into the federal apparatus.[2]
Reception of Woods' work in academia
In June of 2005 Thomas Woods gave a series of ten lectures at the LvMI entitled "The Truth About American History: An Austro-Jeffersonian Perspective" as part of a seminar devoted entirely to Woods and his own areas of interest in American history.
Many of Wood's writings and views are controversial among mainstream historians.[3]
Bibliography
As Author
- The Great Facade: Vatican II and the Regime of Novelty in the Catholic Church (co-authored with Christopher Ferrara; 2002), ISBN 1890740101
- The Church Confronts Modernity: Catholic Intellectuals and the Progressive Era (2004), ISBN 0231131860
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History (2004), ISBN 0895260476
- How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization (2005), ISBN 0895260387
- The Church and Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy (2005), ISBN 0739110365
As Editor
- Choate, Rufus (2002). The Political Writings of Rufus Choate. Gateway Editions. ISBN 0895261545.
- Brownson, Orestes (2003, reprint of 1875 edition). The American Republic. Gateway Editions. ISBN 0895260727.
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References
- ^ [1] New York Times "Bestseller List" (Paperback non-fiction), 9 January 2005
- ^ "The Split on the Right," interview of Thomas Woods by Die Tagespost
- ^ "Thomas Woods and His Critics: A Review Essay," Review by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel of The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History
External links
- Thomas Woods official web site (with appearances schedule)
- Thomas Woods archive at LewRockwell.com
- Thomas Woods media archive at Mises.org
- "The Difficulties Of Thomas Woods" by Thomas Storck at Chronicles