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Real Dissent: A Libertarian Sets Fire to the Index Card of Allowable Opinion by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
lord_tyronisis's review
4.0
I very much enjoy the work of Tom Woods, particularly his work on the Great Recession and his defenses of the free market.
I think his arguments about foreign policy are certainly sincere and raise interesting moral questions that trouble the reader, but I nevertheless still think these arguments are a bit naive. I feel the same way about those who make such arguments from the Left (Zinn, Chomsky, Vidal, etc).
Overall a very interesting read
I think his arguments about foreign policy are certainly sincere and raise interesting moral questions that trouble the reader, but I nevertheless still think these arguments are a bit naive. I feel the same way about those who make such arguments from the Left (Zinn, Chomsky, Vidal, etc).
Overall a very interesting read
shanehawk's review
4.0
A collection of articles, blog posts, and interviews from Tom Woods partitioned into 54 easily navigable chapters. At around 350~ pages this was an easy read within two days. Woods holds four academic degrees--BA from Harvard, master's, M.Phil, and Ph.D from Columbia. He's written about a dozen books both published through large houses and by himself. His podcast has over 1,000 episodes. He's also appeared on just about every political channel you can think of. He's very well-researched and possesses the "seven C's" of communication needed to be an exceptional communicator. Suffice it to say, Tom Woods is the real deal.
The criticisms and counterarguments to left-wing positions, right-wing positions and the Libertarian movement itself were much appreciated. In my state I've been a registered voter of the "no party affiliation" variety since the age of 18. I've always been a contrarian, instigator type of person. Even with a liberal mind, Woods caught me off guard in a few instances throughout this book which I crave. I love getting knocked on my ass by a new perspective because I reject it immediately, then proceed to mull it over and wring it through my moral/ethical/philosophical lenses. The abundance of historical fact inserted throughout the book kept me going.
One's opinion of Tom Woods and this book are wholly contingent on one's political views. We all know dogmatic partisans and how obdurate they can be when anything challenges their ideology.
The criticisms and counterarguments to left-wing positions, right-wing positions and the Libertarian movement itself were much appreciated. In my state I've been a registered voter of the "no party affiliation" variety since the age of 18. I've always been a contrarian, instigator type of person. Even with a liberal mind, Woods caught me off guard in a few instances throughout this book which I crave. I love getting knocked on my ass by a new perspective because I reject it immediately, then proceed to mull it over and wring it through my moral/ethical/philosophical lenses. The abundance of historical fact inserted throughout the book kept me going.
One's opinion of Tom Woods and this book are wholly contingent on one's political views. We all know dogmatic partisans and how obdurate they can be when anything challenges their ideology.
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