The Tom Woods Show

We continue Walter Block week with a discussion of the second Defending the Undefendable book, and cover the corporate raider, the multinational enterpriser, the picket-line crosser, the hatchet man, the human organ merchant, and more. Show notes for Ep. 1594

Today we discuss Walter's classic work, Defending the Undefendable. The rogues gallery Walter seeks to rehabilitate in this episode includes the middleman, the slumlord, the speculator, and more. Sponsor: Skillshare Show notes for Ep. 1593

Walter Block must be the most prolific living libertarian, with over 600 peer-reviewed articles, more than 30 books, and thousands of popular articles to his credit. In this first episode of Walter Block week, we get into Walter's own history, from his high school years with classmate Bernie Sanders to his conversion to economic liberty by none other than Ayn Rand herself. Sponsor: Policy Genius Show notes for Ep. 1592

Scott Horton, the great libertarian foreign-policy expert, returns to the show to discuss the state of the campaign for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination, and the prospects for having a spokesman who knows, loves, and can persuasively defend the ideas of liberty. Show notes for Ep. 1591

Euro Pacific Capital's Peter Schiff joins me to take listener questions (submitted via my Tom Woods Show Elite private group), including (1) what sectors tend to get hit the hardest or hit the least during downturns, including our next one? (2) what can people who aren't wealthy do to protect the savings they do have? (3) what did you tell those Occupy Wall Street protesters, and would you do such a thing in 2020? (4) what's your evaluation of Trump? ... and more. Show notes for Ep. 1590

The great Dominic Frisby joins me to discuss how he successfully lampooned the elitists who pushed the Remain cause on the British, and defended the Brexiteers. Plus libertarianism, comedy, and how (if at all) a comedian can come back after bombing. Show notes for Ep. 1589

Mark Jeftovic, CEO of easyDNS and cryptocurrency enthusiast, says yes, and in his new book and in our conversation today he describes the approach all of us should take, regardless of how obviously inoffensive what you're saying might be. Sponsor: Blinkist Show notes for Ep. 1588

Gene Epstein joins me to discuss the problems associated with protectionism, industrial policy, and the overall package of economic nationalism. Sponsor: Stamps.com Show notes for Ep. 1587

Income inequality has been a hot topic in recent years, but nearly everyone gets it wrong. Here are the real facts, and the best way for libertarians -- or anyone -- to think about them. Sponsor: This election season, trust C-SPAN to give you an unfiltered look at politics and the candidates. Follow Campaign 2020 on the C-SPAN television networks, on the C-SPAN app, or online at c-span.org. Show notes for Ep. 1586

This episode builds on the discussion in episode 1584 about the primary, and devastating, argument against socialism, namely the one developed by Ludwig von Mises that involves the impossibility of economic calculation under socialism. Today I explain why this is the most fundamental argument against socialism, trumping even the problem of dispersed knowledge emphasized by F.A. Hayek. Sponsor: Skillshare Show notes for Ep. 1585

We've heard Greta Thunberg's angry, apocalyptic warnings about the problems arising from climate change. Now economist Paul Krugman says she's closer to the economics than her critics are. What's the right way to think about all this? Sponsor: This election season, trust C-SPAN to give you an unfiltered look at politics and the candidates. Follow Campaign 2020 on the C-SPAN television networks, on the C-SPAN app, or online at c-span.org. Show notes for Ep. 1584

In 1920 Ludwig von Mises published "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth," an article that demolished the foundations of socialism in its original, no-private-property-in-the-means-of-production form. In this episode I explain Mises' thesis, and then show how the problems he identified in classical socialism persist to some extent under any state of any kind. Sponsor: Policy Genius Show notes for Ep. 1583

The demonization of people we disagree with has reached a level of us few of us could have conceived of a generation ago -- or indeed even five years ago. Thinking about this reminded me of several other things I think libertarians (and all people, including myself) could stand to do better. Sponsor: This election season, trust C-SPAN to give you an unfiltered look at politics and the candidates. Follow Campaign 2020 on the C-SPAN television networks, on the C-SPAN app, or online at c-span.org. Show notes for Ep. 1582

Phil Magness returns to discuss the sound and unsound aspects of the New York Times' 1619 Project. Topics include Lincoln and the colonization of the former slaves, the role of slavery in the American Revolution, and slavery's role in American prosperity. Sponsor: This election season, trust C-SPAN to give you an unfiltered look at politics and the candidates. Follow Campaign 2020 on the C-SPAN television networks, on the C-SPAN app, or online at c-span.org. Show notes for Ep. 1581

In this episode about episodes, I review nearly the past four years of the Tom Woods Show to find golden nuggets of awesomeness you may have missed. Show notes for Ep. 1580

Mike Maharrey of the Tenth Amendment Center joins me to discuss what I consider the best short introduction to the real Constitution, as opposed to the one taught in law school and the New York Times. Show notes for Ep. 1579

David Ramsay Steele discusses the phenomenon of fascism, what it really was, and what's wrong with using it as a generic term of abuse. Plus: vegetarianism and animal welfare, and why economic growth doesn't have to mean the consumption of more and more resources. Sponsor: Harry's Show notes for Ep. 1578

At FreedomFest 2010, Gene Epstein and I debated Warren Coates and John Fund on whether the Federal Reserve should be abolished. Here is that debate! Show notes for Ep. 1577

Princeton University Press published my guest's book When All Else Fails, on the subject of whether and under what circumstances it is morally legitimate to resist the state with physical force. Not the kind of topic you might expect from an Ivy League university press, but Brennan makes his case persuasively and provocatively, as indeed he likewise does in today's episode. Show notes for Ep. 1576

Law professor F.H. Buckley joins me to discuss his new book American Secession, and why breaking up the United States -- or at least implementing one of his lesser proposals -- means a happier outcome for everyone. Sponsor: Blinkist Show notes for Ep. 1575