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

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

and a self-professed

anarcho-capitalist Anarcho-capitalism (or, colloquially, ancap) is an anti-statist, libertarian, and anti-political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of stateless societies with systems of private property enfo ...

, he founded and is the chairman of the

Mises Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). I ...

, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the

Austrian School The Austrian School is a heterodox school of economic thought that advocates strict adherence to methodological individualism, the concept that social phenomena result exclusively from the motivations and actions of individuals. Austrian scho ...

of economics. After graduating from university, Rockwell took a job 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 ...

, a conservative publishing house. Through this work, he encountered the works and political theories of his mentor

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

. Reading Rothbard led Rockwell to become an ardent believer in Austrian economics and what he calls "libertarian anarchism". After his ideological transformation, Rockwell went on to work as chief of staff to Congressman

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired 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 we ...

from 1978 to 1982, and 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''". The website is primarily home to right-libertarian authors, although left-wing anti-war writers have been featured.

Life and career

Rockwell was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in 1944. After college, Rockwell worked at

and became acquainted with the works of

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism. He is ...

.Doherty, Brian
"Libertarianism and the Old Right"
''Mises.org''. 1999. Orig. published by ''SpintechMag.org''. May 12, 1999. In the mid-1970s, Rockwell worked at

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

in fundraising and public relations. Rockwell met

in 1975 and credits Rothbard with convincing him to abandon minarchism and reject the state completely.

Work for Ron Paul

Rockwell was Ron Paul's congressional chief of staff from 1978 to 1982 and was a consultant to Paul's 1988 Libertarian Party campaign for President of the United States. He was vice-chair of the exploratory committee for Paul's run for the 1992 Republican Party nomination for president.

Mises Institute

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, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population ...

, 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. Blumert Rockwell Gordon Rothbard

Paleolibertarianism

In 1985, Rockwell was named a contributing editor to ''Conservative Digest''. During the 1990s, Rothbard, Rockwell and others described their views as paleolibertarian to emphasize their commitment to

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 usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultur ...

, even as they continued to hold anti-statist beliefs. 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

Rockwell's website, LewRockwell.com, formed in 1999, features articles and blog entries by multiple 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, opposing "economic fascism" and supporting Austrian economics and

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

ism. Brian Doherty of ''

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

'' 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 that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

writer Jonah Goldberg 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 the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'' 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, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "re ...

'', neoconservatives, and William F. Buckley Jr. 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 magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

'' described the site as paleolibertarian and "an indispensable source" of news on Ron Paul. The site has been criticized for presenting articles which advocate HIV/AIDS denialism, 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", wh ...

'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.

Ron Paul newsletters

'' magazine reported 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. In January 2008, during Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign, James Kirchick of ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'' 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". Kirchick wrote that 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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", but whom he did not identify, was in charge of editing and publishing the newsletters. 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".

Other activities and views

Rockwell was closely associated with anarcho-capitalist theorist Murray Rothbard until Rothbard's death in 1995. Rockwell's paleolibertarian ideology, like Rothbard's in his later years, combines a

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 ...

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'' an ...

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 usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultur ...

values and concerns of

paleoconservatism Paleoconservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism in the United States stressing American nationalism, Christian ethics, regionalism, and traditionalist conservatism. Paleoconservatism's concerns overlap with those of the ...

, 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 called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

Anti-Federalist Anti-Federalism was 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 of Conf ...

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

for the same political decentralist reasons. Rockwell has called

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

"an ideology as pitiless and Messianic as

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

."Rockwell, L. H., Jr. (1990). "An anti-environmentalist manifesto." ''From The Right'', Quarterly II, 1(6), 1. (newsletter of Patrick J. Buchanan), p. 1; Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr
Rockwell's Anti-Environmentalist Manifesto
May 1, 2000 version published by Lewrockwell.com Rockwell also serves as Vice President of the

Center for Libertarian Studies The Center for Libertarian Studies (CLS) was a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist oriented educational organization founded in 1976 by Murray Rothbard and Burton Blumert, which grew out of the Libertarian Scholars Conferences. That year, the conf ...

Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. 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 numerous eucaly ...

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 currently holds the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at the School of Business at Loyola Universit ...

) (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

*
LRC blog
* * * Rockwell's article archives: *
LewRockwell.com
*
Mises.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockwell, Lew 1944 births Living people Writers from Boston 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American anarcho-capitalists American anti–Iraq War activists American book editors American economics writers American libertarians American male bloggers American bloggers American male non-fiction writers American political writers Libertarian theorists Mises Institute people Non-interventionism Paleolibertarianism Political chiefs of staff Ron Paul United States congressional aides Newsletter publishers (people)