The 33 Questions | Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Jeffrey Tucker interviews bestselling author and Mises Institute Senior Fellow, Dr. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. They discuss his recent blockbuster "33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask."

[@clarencepeterson8646]

Old but very good interview and still relevant.

[@kentwelve7023]

Do you mind sharing what type of potato was used in filming this?

[@ThePhoenixofLiberty]

Russet

[@samuelnelson9463]

thirteen years ago, when this video was filmed I was playing on the new video game console, the Wii.

[@daltonbrasier5491]

This deserves way more views. Tom is a national treasure.

[@godprobablyexists7461]

This Tucker guy is peculiar, but in a very cool and likable way. Excellent interview.

[@Thomasfboyle]

If they could get Judge Andrew Napolitano in this video it would be the ultimate libertarian Catholic gathering

[@51MontyPython]

I don't think Tom Woods is Catholic. _Or_ protestant.

[@lucianoaraujopaiva]

He is a Catholic.

[@SovereignStatesman]

Of mice belling the cat.

[@ourmanthejoker]

yes, i love watching and listening to jeff tucker. he cracks me up

[@Omnis2]

It's such a delight to hear Tom Woods speak.

[@johnmoonitz2968]

Tom Woods is awesome!! And I love the Vltava by Smetana! From Ma Vlast . . . beautiful cycle!

[@Greezbhal]

Excellent vid. Very informative.

[@a4finger]

great video, Tom Woods is awesome

[@cybermatrix13]

Mises Institute should thank Ron Paul, who has been the principal proponent of Austrian Theory of Economics. Thats the reason why I'm listening...

[@Phased_Array]

Very insightful video. Looks like I have some reading to do.

[@bbburton]

More, please.

[@songczar]

Thomas Woods is a bad ass! We need to take back control legally and with force! Demand that your State representatives insist on State nullification when it comes to corrupt edits being imposed on the citizenry by the national government!

[@HipHopAn0n]

Tom Woods on point as always.

[@johnisaacdavey]

dude, Tom Woods Jr. is the shit.

[@s0lid_sno0ks]

I love Tom

[@PecaniAnna]

He just agree with him in all issues....

[@XanatharEye]

This book is so hardcore, I reference it all the time. The Old West stuff more than anything.

[@PaulCGraham]

Oh, that we had an army of Tom Woods!!!

[@Camx001]

I kept thinking....What about Obama? And then I saw the date lol.

[@fntime]

Ronald Reagan, although a conservative, was very close to the libetarian movement. He wrote quite a few articles for Reason Magazine in the 1970's.

[@CurtHowland]

It's not a matter of staying agreeable. It's a matter of not alienating the audience before they have heard the facts.

[@RKAddict101]

@ftorresgamez That's a really beautiful way to put it.

[@sergiootero5904]

It only took me 14 years to kinda understand what Tom is saying. The part I do take away, is that government shouldn't have an effect on your day to day life.

[@kusari86]

read ''The Revolution'' and discovered Mises .

[@aumjayakishatriya2982]

Oh, that's great, it jumped the end of both ads then has the last one glitching on the right 3rd of the screen when the video plays. 2:34 still glitching out and still probably better to read no newspapers at all. I know more about our legal system and a number of laws and events around the world than most of my fellow Americans and I don't read the newspapers and I only see televised news because someone else put it on (which is not often when home) or I'm flipping through and they are talking about something of interest (pretty much acts or violence, politics or military affairs, and those aren't the only things they cover, so I may not have reason to listen for a minute or two).

[@D0g63rt]

Jefferson actually pushed for military intervention in the Barbados area because of the Ottoman Empire's slave trafficking gig. It was limited intervention though and he sought policy change as opposed to regime change. Limited war as with limited government.

[@Tasadaru]

Remember to donate to Ron Paul on the 5th of November. A day that all of us will always remember. Don't give up the fight true patriots of America, or else it's bust forever!

[@xit1254]

Great conversation!

[@Krifko]

Could someone please tell me the name of the opening composition? I feel that I know it but I can't remember the name. It's torture!! ;-) Thanks!

[@edsanville]

Man, 2007 was an eternity ago at this point. A totally different world, where the financial crisis and covid didn't yet happen. It really is like a foreign culture here in 2023... a distant memory.

[@evanhdez]

Lol they literally just predicted the future during those last 3 minutes

[@Yaddlezap]

Jeff and Tom look so much younger here

[@dlc435]

Tom looks better today. Jeffrey looks like he aged 50 years (and is a Pervert).

[@ftorresgamez]

The problem is that what for many would be personal interest, for some it is "greed". So let's call it "greed" but also let's define it correctly, not as a pathology but as a very important human component that gives us the drive to progress. One also has to indicate that greed, as with everything, can lead you to bad decisions if unchecked by reason, in the form of RISK AVERSION. What governments have done with regulations and bailouts is to reduce Risk Aversion and create Moral Hazard.

[@ftorresgamez]

"It's incredibly naive to put faith in a system which has produced our current culture of corporate greed. " Lastly, about greed: Blaming "greed" for things like the current meltdown is akin to blaming gravity for plane crashes. People ARE greedy, and greed is what drives everyone to prosper and progress. What keeps greed at bay is RISK AVERSION. However, the meddling in the market changes the balance between risk aversion and greed, creating the very problems we are seeing now.

[@Conza]

Music intro?

[@pretorious700]

"who cares about the parties?' Surely not the young men and women giving their lives and health.

[@noxtwilight]

VitaminWater has SAVED me from Soda!! I feel so much better. Practically the only product I would EVER make such an off topic statement about :) Awesome interview by the way, thank you so much for posting these, this one was especially easy to understand for us lay people, interesting and informative and best of all education about some pretty depressing topics given the state of our country in a very non-depressing way. More please!!

[@KagarBeardtooth]

I wish he was 20 years younger

[@gabon8tor]

@Interkomkomind His personal opinions are not important... his view on personal freedom is what is important

[@markers920]

Hey, 27 is a power of a prime! 33 is a dumb number.

[@NSResponder]

I wish Ron had tried a presidential run 20 years ago. His campaign put a lot of things back on the agenda that had been given up as lost causes for far too long. -jcr

[@dunningkruger9122]

@kev3d If the South was still part of the Union, why would they have attacked Fort Sumter? They would have been attacking their own military installment.

[@ftorresgamez]

Lastly, it is a mistake to think that people's needs are NOT addressed by free people acting freely to pursuit their interests. it is as simple as this: If people's needs AND wants are not addressed by SOMEONE, people will take their business somewhere else. This INCENTIVE is what puts the meat and potatoes on the plate, and not simply the kindness of the butcher or the potato farmer. Under Socialism, it is the central gov. purportedly deciding for the group, that makes these decisions.

[@ftorresgamez]

I recommend to you: "Economics for Real People" by Gene Callahan - you can download it for free. "I, Pencil", by Leonard Reed. "The Left, The Right and the State" by Llewellyn Rockwell. "Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics" by Prof. George Reisman (huge opus, but easy to read and has everything). You can upgrade to "Man, Economy and State" by Murray Rothbard. Also, "Socialism" by Ludwig von Mises - this book explains why Socialism does NOT work, and why middle-of-the-road leads to Socialism.

[@ftorresgamez]

"I think we've all been conditioned to believe that a capitalist/corporatist society is the best solution to meeting the needs of individuals." Actually, the reverse is true: All my schooling years were nothing if not an indoctrination into state socialism. There is no need to brainwash people regarding free market economics - because it works. Corporativism is another matter, because that is actually a Big Business-Big State relationship, or fascism, that has nothing to do with markets.

[@josda1000]

it doesn't matter either way. point is, the wars are wrong and we need to get out. who cares about the parties? i mean, really...

[@THEECF]

Great comment

[@bbcapryllian9337]

Clarence Thomas is from Pinpoint, GA and has "no problems."

[@ftorresgamez]

"And then when he [Reagan] became president he threw [his Libertarianism] totally out the window and implemented terrible FDR-esque policies" Absolutely true. Murray Rothbard called his bluff and considered Reagan a closet liberal - he did nothing to reduce the size of government. The only "good" thing he did was to lower the tax rate BUT he closed very important loopholes in the code, amounting to ALMOST no tax reduction! He was NOT a true conservative, sorry to say.

[@charlespeters5337]

Sorry, I totally lost it at 00:53

[@dlc435]

Charles Peters Have you ever ripped ass before

[@kev3d]

@JakeTheShake Obviously the Confederates did not see it that way and that's how wars often begin. The union initially ceded the states but continued to lay claim to military installments, which the Confederacy did not recognize and sought to take the forts they believed were theirs.

[@kev3d]

Yes and no, the Union sprang war onto the south not after secession, but after the Confederacy refused to compensate the Union for "Federal" military bases that dotted the south. The Confederacy thought the land and assets belonged the them, the Union believed the reverse. Hence the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina and the game was afoot.

[@dunningkruger9122]

@highonhayek I didn't know Freidman was a free-market guy. I thought he was a monetarist that supported central banking and government control of currency. I'll have to look more deeply into his writings. I'm not all that familiar with his body of work.

[@spawk1993]

"There hasn't been a 'conservative' Republican since Barry Goldwater" ? Ron paul , gold water jr (lol)

[@Interkomkomind]

first of"anything goes as long as it doesn't offend anybody"is a universal moral. It's because human beings contain the power of empathy that we(as reletively weak animals) survived until this day. In conclusion, helping others out/not negatively affecting others -can be considered an universally preferable behavior with the evidence of the human survival as one example. Relativism is not considered in a discussion about morals, because without facts to backup arguments, every stance is invalid

[@Guest655321]

So prophetic at the end about republicans finding their roots just to be contrarian.

[@D0g63rt]

" Hence the Confederates attacked" Hmmm. I must be missing something.

[@CrossFit1776]

Who doesnt love the classical liberal tradition? Oh that crazy Tom Woods! And why does Jeff Tucker just seem like a cool guy? :)

[@CurtHowland]

The most astounding thing about these Mises (dot) org historical works is just how wrong the usual assumptions about American history are. Like the "wild" west actually being very peaceful.

[@bbcapryllian9337]

Other wise you are doing well.

[@velation]

A lot of times libertarians have this manner as if they are, when they're talking about the rightful powers of the state, actually talking from the hypothetical position that the state has a right to any powers at all over and above those of its citizens. It seems a shame to me that so many libertarians should come so far only to baulk at the last hurdle to intellectual honesty.

[@pretorious700]

If you think Ron Paul is going to "soften" his "stances" you don't know anything about him....He actually has integrity, not "stances".

[@tewj57]

He doesn't give Lincoln a "pass."

[@ZeraYaqob]

or 33rd degree mason?

[@51MontyPython]

It was the publisher's idea ;)

[@ftorresgamez]

Jeez, Jeffrey Tucker looks like an Old Southern Plantation Owner with that getup and hairdo! The only speck of modernity is the Mises wristband he is clearly wearing. Nevertheless, he is one outstanding writer and economist.

[@HereticNix]

I don't know this Tucker fella, bet he seems to be some historically adept american version of Bruno dressed like someone from the Great Gatsby

[@ftorresgamez]

"It IS a political and economic structure which puts the NEEDS of people first (not necessarily the WANTS)" There is a problem with your definition - who can decide what are needs and what are wants, if not the very individuals that make those valuations? Socialist thinkers readily assume that there can be a clear and objective differentiation between needs and wants, but if inquiring deeply enough, those "objective" differentiations end up being SUBJECTIVE (depending on the thinker)!

[@ftorresgamez]

You also misunderstand totally what happens in 3rd world countries (I come from Mexico, so I know) The problem is not corporations or "greed", but lack of property rights. People cannot simply plan and risk investing for the future because their government could decide to take everything tomorrow. Big Corporations are found in just a few countries, and if their greed was a cause for poverty, then the developed countries should be cesspools and not developed countries.

[@secretbonus]

33 degrees of freemasonry

[@bookbinder66]

they would love the 33 thing , the hes a mason buzz lol go tom keeep fighting

[@ftorresgamez]

There could be more appreciation for a movie about S. B. Fuller. Remember "The Pursuit of Happyness" (typo is from the original title)? People are more receptive to that message. He should inspire everyone, not just blacks. Problem is: S.B. Fuller commented time ago that blacks should stop blaming others and work hard for their goals. That did not sit well with black leaders, politicians and the NAACP. He is still not well regarded by the black intelligentsia.

[@Samsgarden]

Jeffrey Tucker reminds me of Pee Wee Herman

[@soundmoneyfan]

haha, he ran as a libertarian in 1988, 20 years ago. people preferred the trilateral commission leader George H.W. Bush.

[@jdt2003]

So I guess Ron Paul was right.

[@ftorresgamez]

"S. B. Fuller is someone I'd like to know more about." Me, too. His story is fascinating - but the NAACP would have none of it - does not fit its "victimcrat" mentality.

[@tewj57]

What in the world are you talking about? This interview has nothing to do with anyone named Gatto.

[@Nielsio]

It's kinda funny how you guys stay so 'moderate'. I mean, the state is obviously a criminal gang, but I see how you guys can't state things like that and prefer to be more agreeable.

[@tewj57]

Must have been a fluke. It's available now.

[@eKoush]

don't put the cart in front of the horse now. what makes you think you weren't conditioned to also believe that "bad corporations" are "greedy" and the "wants" are no real "needs". just think about all the bad things in this world which are only reasoned by "free market greedy capitalism". it's a very narrow way of seeing corruption/progress/force but the other side is not much harder to understand. Forced intervention from representatives is neither without logical fallacies nor uncorruptible.

[@luciusETRUR]

That's only true of the 20th century.. the Republican party started the Civil War and the Spanish-American war, and the Democrats had more to say in the Mexican-American war.

[@ftorresgamez]

@highervis, You are confusing being greedy with being criminal. These terms are NOT interchangeable. A person may be motivated by greed to kill or steal, but that makes him a CRIMINAL, not simply or only a greedy person nor an example of a greedy person. Greed is what drives us, otherwise we would be like PLANTS - passive, no drive, no motivation.

[@gergenheimer]

@coturnix19 What's more, a person can be greedy and still benefit his fellow man in the process of pursuing this greed - Thomas Edison was a mean, ruthless S.O.B., yet the electric light bulb has been more beneficial to humanity than any altruistic, "selfless" programs I can think of.

[@alistairproductions]

@surGeonGG he does seem odd. whatever!

[@SovereignStatesman]

33 STRAWMAN questions. The 3 questions that _matter,_, are the elephants in the room that he doesn't want to mention: 1. "What is the national status of the individual states, 2. Who holds final authority, and 3. How do the people consent to their government?" Tom Woods: "What are you, some kind of crank?"

[@firstgenchevelleman]

Jeffrey Tucker gives me bad vibes

[@TheMobocracy]

You were way off on that one.

[@CCTP9876]

I really like Thomas Woods, although I do not agree with his anti-war and pro-drugs stuff, he is veery smart but on these two things he is so naive, it blows my mind.

[@jscottupton]

+MLE canal You remind me of me when I was 18 (II am now now 68). Being against unnecessary war and drug warsis NOT the same as being FOR drugs or FOR fighting to defend people against tyranny. Example. I spent 3 years in Korea (in the 70s and later in the 80s). It was obvious to me that we no longer needed to have 50,000 troops in Korea. It has taken all this time to get it down to 30,000. It needs to be reduced to around 4000.

[@johnmoonitz2968]

+MLE canal I believe these are the strongest elements of his character. There is nothing naive about standing for peace (when I say peace this does not mean I am opposed to all war . . . there are those rare occasions where war is unavoidable--i.e., when we are attacked, as in WWII) and individual liberty. It would be naive for him, or me, or any single Libertarian to believe that he, or I, or they alone, or even the Libertarian movement today, could "save the world" . . . but this is not what men like Tom Woods and Judge Andrew Napolitano and Ron Paul and Rand Paul, believe . . . What they are doing is spreading a message that is ahead of its time. There is a fine tradition of this throughout human history . . . sometimes people learn . . . sometimes they don't. Sometimes the antagonists and naysayers (in this particular case, the war mongers, and those who believe that we need the government to rule over our private lives, because without them holding our hand, and wiping our butts, and protecting us from ourselves, well, we'd just be running amok like a bunch of psychotic freaks) . . . prove more effective than those few voices who would not be cowed into silence, and we don't progress. I believe the message of individual liberty is truth, and that, as truth, it will have a profound impact on those who truly understand what individual liberty is . . . and just how horrible life would be without individual liberty.

[@gmsllc]

Not an argument

[@aumjayakishatriya2982]

"veery" interesting ad hominem fallacy, "Info" canal. It's been over four years. I suppose you still won't provide an actual argument against what he said?

[@eccentricity00]

this is old as shit

[@junkyarddog47]

ecc entricity you are stupid

[@SovereignStatesman]

@Matthew Littlejohn They didn't have tea before fire was invented.

[@godprobablyexists7461]

Together? Oh my.