• "Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued.... Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study."
    -Journal of American History

  • "During these times that challenge our freedoms there is no one more qualified to make U.S. history relevant to the fight against big government than Thomas Woods."
    -Barry Goldwater Jr.
    Former Member of Congress

  • "I strongly recommend Woods's work."
    -The Honorable Ron Paul,
    U.S. House of Representatives

  • "Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable."
    -Journal of American Studies

  • "A must-read."
    -Barron's

  • "An excellent reading source for anyone interested in financial markets, and much more so for anyone interested in learning about capitalism without all the misinterpretations being thrown about in the financial media."
    -Asia Times

  • "Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read."
    -Catholic Historical Review

  • "An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism."
    -Journal of the Historical Society

  • "Woods and [co-author Kevin] Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad…. The authors' exegeses of the Constitution and court decisions, heavy on original intent arguments, are lucid and telling."
    -Publishers Weekly

  • "A marvelous read. Every chapter taught me something new and unexpected."
    -Tom Bethell, senior editor,
    The American Spectator

  • "The hottest book today is Meltdown, by my friend Tom Woods."
    -Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst,
    FOX News Channel

  • "Should be required reading."
    -Economic Affairs (London)

  • "Woods, one of the best classical liberal [libertarian] scholars of his generation, has once more placed us in his debt with this lucid and tightly argued book."
    -David Gordon, The Mises Review

  • "Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy."
    -Peter Schiff

Parents for Liberty

I get lots of requests for pro-liberty materials for children. A new site, Parents for Liberty, fills an important gap by providing valuable links and resources for parents and children alike.

I should note as a caveat that I personally think the extension of libertarianism to the raising of children is a category mistake. That’s not to say that parents ought to be vicious to their children; anyone spending any time in our home would discover a very nurturing environment full of smiles and love. But in my personal experience, children raised in a Montessori kind of setting are consistently the ones who terrorize my own children, are self-absorbed, etc. I am sure some people have made this work. I am saying that in my experience, the odds are against it.

Unlearn the Propaganda!

  • Anonymous

    I’m not here to dismiss your experience, but my own kids (Montessori grade school) are the embodiment of sweet, decent, empathetic, young people. (even when I’m NOT looking :) )

  • http://www.facebook.com/daniel.woike Daniel George Ignatius Woike

    It would be interesting to see you and Stefan Molyneux discuss parenting techniques.

  • http://twitter.com/LA_Liberty LA Liberty

    “children raised in a Montessori kind of setting are consistently the ones who terrorize my own children, are self-absorbed, etc.”

    Can you please elaborate? My oldest just started Montessori.
    Of course, being in LA, government schooling is a non-starter – but we’ve been additionally impressed with the Montessori style of teaching. I’d like to know your experiences so I can be aware of what to look for and how to keep my girls as sweet and independent and loving and curious as they are.

  • http://www.TomWoods.com Tom Woods

    I probably shouldn’t have said Montessori. I am thinking of people whose children are terrorizing other children, and their response is, “Now, now.”

  • Anonymous

    Over-indulgent parents, NOT Montessori. Implied apology accepted!! :)

  • Anonymous

    I have a similar but slightly different need. My parents believe inflation creates wealth, that we need to spend trillions of dollars on national defense because Muslims are out to get us, and that Mitt Romney would’ve created jobs. We got into a fairly heated debate on inflation and both of us came away fairly irritated. Problem is, I have difficulty getting them to read material on the web. It has to be on CNBC, CNN or Fox News for anything to register as valid.

  • Anonymous

    I’m all for teaching kids about liberty, but it seems like it’s mostly an anti-spanking website. My kids are grown, but I wouldn’t have any reason to learn parenting or anything else from people that are anti-Christian like Molyneux. Plenty of other sources without having to listen to his bigotry.

  • http://twitter.com/LA_Liberty LA Liberty

    Ah. Yeah, that sounds like bad (or as Capn_Mike says, over-indulgent) parenting.
    We teach our kids the non-aggression principle. :)

  • David K.

    OK, Tom, that seems plausible, but I wouldn’t call it “the extension of libertarianism to the raising of children” if parents do nothing about their children bullying and terrorizing others. Libertarianism merely prohibits physical aggression.

  • Slim934

    I believe Stephan Kinsella is putting his son through a Montessori school. His experience with it has been glowing.

  • JP

    Damn, your parents think inflation creates wealth. Do they read Krugman? Maybe they think like Cheney that deficits don’t matter.

  • Anonymous

    I do have an opinion with regard to the Montessori comment, and please keep in mind that I am not against that type of education, nor do I think that what I am about to say can be generally applied to *all* of those who have a Montessori education.

    My very limited experience with Montessori children revealed a self-centered attitude in the child, a very high time preference, a disregard for the feelings/existence of others, and a very low sense of guilt or remorse for bad actions. I have many examples, but here is one that I remember.

    It was my niece’s birthday, and her soon to be step-sister was there (she is a Montessori student). As is normal during birthdays, we had a cake with candles on it. As soon as my niece blew out the candles on her cake, her soon-to-be-step-sister immediately started grabbing all of the candles and started licking the icing off of them (almost ravenously). When told to stop she simply ignored everybody and started grabbing the candles more quickly. When my niece tried to grab one of the candles, the other girl slapped her hand away. After this incident, the Montessori child felt no remorse for her actions, and was only angry that she didn’t get to lick more of the candles.

    Like I said, my experience is limited (to 3 separate children from 3 separate Montessori schools) and I wouldn’t feel comfortable labeling the entirety of Montessori as the cause, but what I have described above has been pretty much a constant in the kids that I’ve met.

  • Jim

    Yeah I’d be interested in that too.

  • Dean

    I feel compelled to address the charge that Stephan Molyneux is anti-Christian. This is misleading, at best. You might be able to say that he is anti-religion, but even that wouldn’t really be accurate as he’s really only “anti”-aggression. Moreover, does being anti-religion really make one a bigot? I think that’s a bit of a stretch, to put it mildly.

  • Michael Mills

    Hey Tom as regards to children, I’m putting the finishing touches on a children/young adult novel that through fantasy tries to convey the message. Its got action and adventure and all the good stuff.

  • MisesMat

    Hello, Tom! I don’t know if you’ve ever read Charlotte Thompson Iserbyte’s book. “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of American Education”. In it, she explains that the Montessori Society was run by none other than Benito Mussolini! I highly recommend this work. I am therefore quite skeptical of Montessori education.

  • Anonymous

    Well, thanks for your opinion. “Religion” is a bad word for me. I did not use it. To me religion is a way to make yourself acceptable to God, and I don’t believe that is possible. In Christianity, it is what Christ did on the cross that makes you acceptable. Molyneux denies Christ’s saving grace along with God’s existence, etc. When it comes to choosing between Jesus and old Stefan (who can’t even tell you the number of hairs on his head let alone anything about God or the universe), guess who I’m going with? And Christianity is not aggressive, btw.

  • Anonymous

    A major problem for religion lies in the fact the governments, kings, and even churches have used the teachings of religion as a form of leverage over their subjects, preying on their good intentions and trust. In the early church most of the people were not capable of reading or in some cases were not allowed to read the bible. It had to be read to them, “interpreted” for them. Thus, Christianity has been used many times as a tool of legitimization for the initiation of aggression and conflict nearly as long as it has been around. Think about after 9/11, where we were essentially told that one of the primary reasons for going to war is that as a Christian nation we were morally superior to the heathens we opposed, which allowed excessive retribution that was neither necessary nor expedient. The same type of situation is observable in nearly all major religions.
    I agree with your definition of religion and have long felt the same way. The problem is not with the teachings of the major religions in most cases, it is in the twisted interpretations or additions, and the “only I can read between the lines and tell you what this means” leaders who brainwash their followers. Therefore, I agree with you that Christianity is not aggressive. It is the perversion and manipulation of trusting people’s faith by men in positions of power that have long caused war and tyranny. It is basically a simple case of blaming the tool and not the one who wields it. Sounds like something else that we are fighting over right now…

  • jack

    I’m perfectly fine with you believing anything. I’m not with you torturing your children. Telling them all those fairy tales and making them believe it by threatening eternal suffering in hell is torture. It’s not rational, it’s not humane to tell them – do as I and the guys in black skirts say or else you’ll die million times in a devil’s pit. I bet it leaves scars visible on brain scans similar to those that arise by beating. Yes, beating your children makes their brain short-circuit, go look at Molyneux “Bomb in the Brain” series. And have a nice day, christian.

  • Anonymous

    It sure seems like all the lying, animosity, anger, hatred, intolerance, etc., comes from the non-Christians, doesn’t it?

  • Cristina

    I’m confused. How does libertarianism translate into permissive parenting? This is like claiming anarchy is synonymous with chaos.