Jeffrey Tucker, founder of the Brownstone Institute and Austrian economics advocate, joins Shawn to dissect the COVID-19 response’s devastating impact on institutional trust and explore paths to personal sovereignty. This conversation unveils how the pandemic revealed the “total state” pervading all aspects of society, why libertarian institutions failed during the crisis, and how Austrian economics principles point toward reclaiming individual freedom through timeless values and critical thinking.
“I was outraged when I saw what was happening. I had been writing about pandemic planning issues since about 2005 because I saw that there was a sector within government that imagined that the way to deal with infectious disease was by nationalizing everything.”
Jeffrey Tucker is the founder and president of the Brownstone Institute, established in 2021 as a response to COVID-19 policies. He's authored numerous books, including his latest, Spirits of America, inspired by Eric Sloan's The Spirit of '76. A prolific writer with 1,000+ articles, Tucker has been a leading voice against pandemic restrictions and institutional overreach. His work spans economics, technology, and individual liberty, with a focus on practical philosophy for modern life.