Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

and a self-professed

anarcho-capitalist Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of Sovereign state, centralized states in favor of Stateless society, stateless societies, where systems of p ...

, he founded and is the chairman of the

Mises Institute The Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, that is a center for Austrian economics, right-wing libertarian thought and the paleolibertarian and ana ...

, a non-profit promoting the

Austrian School The Austrian school is a Heterodox economics, heterodox Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivat ...

of economics. After graduating from university, Rockwell had jobs at the conservative

Arlington House Publishers Arlington House, Inc. (dba as Arlington House Publishers), now-defunct, was an American book publisher of jazz discographies, as well as conservative and anti-communist titles. It was a Delaware corporation from 1964 to 1988 with offices in New R ...

, the radical-right

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

, and the traditionalist

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

. Reading the works of

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

, who became his mentor, led Rockwell to become an ardent believer in Austrian economics and what he calls "libertarian anarchism". Rockwell was chief of staff to Congressman

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

from 1978 to 1982, and was a founding officer and former vice president at Ron Paul & Associates, which published political and investment-oriented newsletters bearing Paul's name. Racist and homophobic content in those newsletters became a controversy in Paul's later campaigns; Rockwell denied ghostwriting it but acknowledged a role in the promotion. Rockwell partnered with Rothbard in 1982 to found the Mises Institute in Alabama, where , Rockwell still serves as chairman. Rockwell's website, LewRockwell.com, was launched in 1999. The website features articles about political philosophy, economics, and contemporary politics. The website's motto is "anti-war, anti-state, pro-market". Rockwell, his website and the Mises Institute have promoted

neo-Confederate Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light. The League of the South (formed in 1994), the Sons of Confederate Veterans (formed 1896 ...

views.

Life and career

Rockwell was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in 1944. After college, Rockwell worked at

Arlington House publishers Arlington House, Inc. (dba as Arlington House Publishers), now-defunct, was an American book publisher of jazz discographies, as well as conservative and anti-communist titles. It was a Delaware corporation from 1964 to 1988 with offices in New R ...

and became acquainted with the works of

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; ; September 29, 1881 – October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American political economist and philosopher of the Austrian school. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the social contributions of classical l ...

.Doherty, Brian
"Libertarianism and the Old Right"
, ''Mises.org''. 1999. Orig. published by ''SpintechMag.org''. May 12, 1999. A former lifetime member of the radical-right

, Rockwell worked in its Member's Monthly Message Department before resigning amid disputes with the society's leaders. In the mid-1970s, Rockwell worked at the traditionalist

in fundraising and public relations. Rockwell met the anarcho-capitalist

in 1975 and credits Rothbard with convincing him to abandon

minarchism A night-watchman state, also referred to as a minimal state or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a state that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on libertarian theory. Right-libertarians support it ...

and reject the state completely. In 1985, Rockwell was named a contributing editor to ''Conservative Digest''. Rockwell also served as Vice President of the

Center for Libertarian Studies Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its ...

, which published the ''Rothbard-Rockwell Report''. Rockwell was closely associated with Rothbard until Rothbard's death in 1995.

Work for Ron Paul (1978–)

Rockwell was Ron Paul's congressional chief of staff from 1978 to 1982 and was a consultant to Paul's 1988

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party may refer to: *Libertarian Party (Argentina) * Liberal Libertarian Party * Libertarian Party of Australia * Libertarian Party of Canada ** British Columbia Libertarian Party **Libertarian Party of Manitoba (now Freedom Party of Ma ...

campaign for President of the United States. He was vice-chair of the

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

for Paul's run for the 1992 Republican Party nomination for president.

Ron Paul newsletters

Rockwell was a founding officer and former vice president at Ron Paul & Associates, which was one of the publishers of a variety of political and investment-oriented newsletters bearing Paul's name.The newsletters had various names: ''Dr. Ron Paul's Freedom Report'' (), ''The Ron Paul Survival Report'' (), the ''Ron Paul Investment Letter'' (), and the ''Ron Paul Political Report'' (). In January 2008, during Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign,

James Kirchick James Kirchick (; born 1983) is an American reporter, foreign correspondent, author, and columnist. He has been described as a conservative or neoconservative. Career Born in Boston, Kirchick was raised in a Jewish family and attended Yale ...

of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' uncovered a collection of Ron Paul newsletters that contained "decades worth of obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays." For instance, one issue approved of the slogan "Sodomy = Death" and said homosexuals suffering from HIV/AIDS "enjoy the pity and attention that comes with being sick". Most of the articles contained no bylines. Numerous sources alleged that Rockwell had ghostwritten the controversial newsletters;Jim Rutenberg and Serge F. Kovaleski
Paul Disowns Extremists’ Views but Doesn’t Disavow the Support
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 25, 2011. Rockwell is listed as "contributing editor" on physical copies of some newsletters and listed as sole Editor of the May 1988 "Ron Paul investment Newsletter". ''Reason'' magazine reported that "a half-dozen longtime libertarian activists – including some still close to Paul" had identified Rockwell as the "chief ghostwriter" of the newsletters, as did former Ron Paul Chief of Staff (1981–1985) John W. Robbins. Rockwell admitted to Kirchick that he was "involved in the promotion" of the newsletters and wrote the subscription letters but denied ghostwriting the articles. He said there were "seven or eight freelancers involved at various stages" of the newsletter's history and indicated another individual who had "left in unfortunate circumstances" and "is now long gone", but whom he did not identify, was in charge of editing and publishing the newsletters. Rockwell has described discussion of the newsletters scandal as "hysterical smears aimed at political enemies." Ron Paul himself repudiated the newsletters' content and said he was not involved in the daily operations of the newsletters or saw much of their content until years later. In 2011, Paul's spokesperson Jesse Benton said that Paul had "taken moral responsibility because they appeared under his name and slipped through under his watch".

Mises Institute (1982–)

In 1982, Rockwell founded the Ludwig von Mises Institute in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...

, and is chairman of the board. The Mises Institute published Rockwell's ''Speaking of Liberty'', an anthology of editorials which were originally published on his website, along with transcripts from some of his speaking engagements. The institute hosted conferences on

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

; Rockwell wrote before a 1995 conference, "We'll explore what causes ecessionand how to promote it." Blumert Rockwell Gordon Rothbard

Paleolibertarianism (1980s–2000s)

Rothbard, Rockwell and others described their views as

paleolibertarian Paleolibertarianism (also known as the "Paleo strategy") is a right-libertarian political activism strategy aimed at uniting libertarians and paleoconservatives. It was developed by American anarcho-capitalist theorists Murray Rothbard and Lew ...

to describe their

cultural conservatism Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is sometimes associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and anti-immigration sentiment. B ...

fused with their otherwise anti-statist beliefs. They forged a "paleo alliance" between paleolibertarians and

paleoconservatives Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns o ...

in the form of the John Randolph Club in 1989, which allied the Mises Institute and the paleoconservative

Rockford Institute The Rockford Institute was an American conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. Founded in 1976, it ran the John Randolph Club and published the magazine '' Chronicles''. In 2018 the Rockford In ...

. In a 2007 interview, Rockwell revealed he no longer considered himself a "paleolibertarian" and was "happy with the term libertarian." He explained "the term paleolibertarian became confused because of its association with paleoconservative, so it came to mean some sort of socially conservative libertarian, which wasn't the point at all..."

LewRockwell.com (1999–)

Rockwell's website, LewRockwell.com, formed in 1999, features articles and blog entries by various columnists and writers. Its motto is "anti-war, anti-state, pro-market". There also is a weekly podcast called ''The Lew Rockwell Show''. , it was in the top 10,000 websites in the United States. LewRockwell.com publishes articles questioning United States participation in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, opposing "economic fascism" and supporting Austrian economics and

ism. The website is primarily home to

right-libertarian Right-libertarianism,Rothbard, Murray (1 March 1971)"The Left and Right Within Libertarianism". ''WIN: Peace and Freedom Through Nonviolent Action''. 7 (4): 6–10. Retrieved 14 January 2020.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the ...

authors, although

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

anti-war writers have been featured. The academic Tanni Haas wrote in his 2011 book on political bloggers that of the 20 figures he interviewed, "none have more radical views" than Rockwell, whose avowed goal was to "do everything he can to undermine the state". Brian Doherty of ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'' wrote that the site's "Mises Institute-associated writers" tend to emphasize the domestic and international fallout from government action.

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

writer

Jonah Goldberg Jonah Jacob Goldberg (born March 21, 1969) is an American conservative journalist, author, and political commentator. The founding editor of ''National Review Online'', from 1998 until 2019, he was an editor at ''National Review''. Goldberg writ ...

of ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'' wrote that the site regularly hosts invective against icons of American mainstream conservatism, including ''National Review'', ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' was described as a ...

'',

neoconservatives Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...

, and

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...

In this article, Goldberg was responding to criticisms of another article he had written about the website. A writer in ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...

'' described the site as paleolibertarian and "an indispensable source" of news on Ron Paul. The site published '' InfoWars'' articles by the conspiracy theorist Paul Joseph Watson from 2011 to 2016. The site has been criticized for presenting articles which advocate

HIV/AIDS denialism HIV/AIDS denialism is the belief, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Some of its proponents reject the existence of HIV, while other ...

, the view that HIV does not cause AIDS, * For the 2006 LRC conference, see
LewRockwell.com 2006 conference schedule
* For

Harvey Bialy Harvey Bialy (born 1945, New York City, died July 1, 2020) was an American molecular biologist and AIDS denialist. He was one of the signatories to a letter to the editor by the "Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV-AIDS Hypothesis", w ...

's LRC response to Farber, Celia (March 2006). "Out of Control: AIDS and the Corruption of Medical Science". ''Harper's'', vol. 312, no. 1870, pp. 37–52, ; ; see
"The US Government Responds to the 'AIDS Denialist' Writing in the March ''Harper’s''"
* For Rebecca Culshaw's LRC article, see
"Why I Quit HIV"
, LewRockwell.com, March 3, 2006. and the view that vaccines cause autism.

Other activities and views

Rockwell's

ideology, like Rothbard's in his later years, combines a

theory of anarcho-capitalism based on

natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', ''fundamental rights ...

with the

cultural conservative Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is sometimes associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and anti-immigration sentiment. Bec ...

values and concerns of

paleoconservatism Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and a strain of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, traditionalist conservatism, and non-interventionism. Paleoconservatism's concerns ove ...

, and he identifies strongly with the modern Rothbardian tradition of Austrian economics. In politics, he advocates

federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

Anti-Federalist The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles ...

policies as means to achieve increasing degrees of freedom from central government and

for the same political

decentralist Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

reasons. Rockwell has called

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

"an ideology as pitiless and Messianic as

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

." Rockwell is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Books

Author

* ''Speaking of Liberty'' (2003; onlin
e-book
* ''The Left, The Right, and The State'' (2008; onlin
e-book
* ''Against the State: An Anarcho-Capitalist Manifesto'' (2014) * ''Fascism vs. Capitalism'' (2013) * ''Against The Left: A Rothbardian Libertarianism'' (2019)

Editor

* ''Man, Economy, and Liberty: Essays in Honor of Murray N. Rothbard'' (with

Walter Block Walter Edward Block (born August 21, 1941) is an American Austrian School economist and anarcho-capitalist theorist. He was the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the School of Business at Loyola University New Orlean ...

) (1986; onlin
e-book
* ''The Free Market Reader'' (1988; onlin
e-book
* ''The Economics of Liberty'' (1990; onlin
e-book
* ''The Gold Standard: Perspectives in the Austrian School'' (1992; onlin
e-book
, * ''Murray N. Rothbard: In Memoriam'' (1995; onlin
e-book
* ''The Irrepressible Rothbard'' (2000; onlin

– Rockwell'

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockwell, Lew 1944 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Roman Catholics American anarcho-capitalists American anti–Iraq War activists American book editors American economics writers American founders American libertarians American male bloggers American male non-fiction writers American political writers American Roman Catholic writers Catholic libertarians John Birch Society members Libertarian theorists Mises Institute people Neo-Confederates Newsletter publishers (people) Political chiefs of staff Ron Paul United States congressional aides Writers from Boston